River of Jeevas
by lufflesmattXD
Summary: Sequel to '3 disciples of L'. After her brother's death, how will Ella Jeevas cope with nobody to rely on? I don't own Death Note. Rated T for some swearing. No yaoi, but NearxOC, and MelloxLidner. Spoilers, especially names, but you knew that already.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Ooookay, so here is the start of an idea for a fanfiction of Death Note. Lol._

_Oh, and I forgot this with all of my previous fanfics, but I do not own Death Note. Not in the slightest. But… actually… I'm not even sure if I own my OC, seeing as she's Matt's sister… well, what the hell… here it is._

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As I pulled the knife out of its sheath, I shivered at the sound it made. I couldn't go through with this. No! I had to do this! How could I go on living when there was nobody left in my life? As soon as I did this, I could see him again. See all of them again. I barely remembered my parents at all, but the memory of my brother was painful. Suddenly, that pain throbbed and I knew I had to. I brought the knife to my chest, and then hesitated.

I hadn't thought this far, and I couldn't believe I'd been such an idiot. I didn't know _how_ to kill myself. If I plunged the knife straight through my skin, I didn't know how much pain I'd be in and for how long before I died. I hated the idea of slitting my wrists or my throat – just thinking about that made me want to throw up. I should have thought about getting a gun, but I didn't want to die like that either. I didn't want to die like him.

It was only a moments hesitation, but a moment was enough for it to happen. I hadn't heard the sound the door made as it opened, but I heard what came next.

"ELLA!" the voice was familiar, but before I had time to recognise it I was knocked off my feet.

We crashed to the floor together and the knife left my hand, spinning away. The momentum of his run up caused him to roll off me, and I heard a cry of pain. Then silence. I waited while my heart slowed, and the fear subsided enough for me to look around. I sat up and turned to look at him, wide-eyed.

It was Near – the only person I knew that was my age. I hadn't exactly been a social person after I'd left the orphanage I was raised in when I was only sixteen. He'd been the one who'd given me a place to stay – although it was only the building his organisation was housed in. I gasped as I saw him more clearly.

It was evident why he had cried out – he had rolled in the same direction as the knife and it was stabbed deep into his right arm. He shut his eyes and grimaced as I stumbled to my feet.

"Near!" I yelled, rushing over to him. He reached up with his left hand – eyes still closed – and pulled out the knife, letting it clatter to the floor. He gasped in pain, and I kneeled beside him, my breath catching in my throat and tears running down my face.

"Oh, my God, Near!" I whispered, "I-I…" I couldn't bear the sight of him wincing. "I have to go get help!" I said, hating to leave him there but terrified I might make it worse. In dashed from the room, only looking back at him once. The image stuck in my head as I sprinted down the hall of the building.

"Halle!" I yelled, flinging open the door of every room, searching. "Halle!" Halle Lidner was the only other person I was sort of friends with. The rest of the SPK I didn't really know. I finally burst into a room with somebody in it. I gasped for breath and struggled to speak, hands on knees. All three of them were there – Halle, Gevanni and Rester.

"What? What, Ella?" Lidner asked.

"N-Near!" I gasped. "Quick!" Luckily, she understood and followed me as I ran back out of the room. The other two came as well. I crashed into the other room again, the other three close behind me.

Near was sitting up, eyes open. He was still breathing hard, and every time he sucked in a breath his whole body shuddered. He'd taken the initiative to grab a cloth from a nearby box and stem the flow of the blood. It was soaked through with red, though, and I heard three noises of surprise from behind me.

"Near, what happened?!" Lidner hurried to his side, crouching down. "Gevanni; bandages." She threw the two words over her shoulder, and I heard the male agent leave. Rester came to kneel beside us. Near glanced at them, wincing.

"Nothing." He said, voice shaking. "I tripped over." I was grateful that he had lied; I didn't want anybody to know what I'd tried to do. Lidner's eyes narrowed. She obviously found it as hard to believe as I did that any genius could simply 'trip over'. Near knew how normal people would hurt themselves – he, on the other hand, was far from normal. I heard Rester's intake of breath, and I followed his gaze.

Oh, God. The knife was still on the floor, stained with Near's blood. However, neither of the agents said anything. I supposed they were assuming Near had his reasons for everything, but why this? Did they really have that much trust in him? Gevanni returned with bandages and Lidner tried to fix up the wound before proclaiming that it needed stitches.

Tears were drying on my face, and I was shivering. I didn't like blood – I never had. But it had gotten worse when I'd seen the news that day… I shut my eyes, trying not to think about it.

Ten minutes later, Near was sitting up in a bed in the 'infirmary' that hadn't been an infirmary until we'd entered it. The rest of the SPK had left already, but I didn't want to go. After all, this was my fault. Near didn't look at me for a while, preferring to gaze down at the one knee he had pressed against his chest while his other leg was stretched out.

He still didn't look at me when he spoke. "Why, Ella?" he asked. "Why would you do that?" I didn't speak. He looked at me – and I swore I could see hurt in his eyes. I supposed it was justified – he'd done a lot for me over the past year.

"…I…" I couldn't really say anything other than that, although it wasn't exactly an explanation. I swallowed a breath and tried again. "… I wanted to see him…"

Near sighed, but I couldn't decipher the meaning behind it. "You have your whole life ahead of you, Ella." He said. "Can't you wait until it's natural for you to see him?" His words made me wan to burst into tears again. Couldn't I wait? I was so stupid. Near sighed again.

"It's okay." He said, reaching out towards me. I wasn't sure what he was trying to do, so I just reached forwards as well. Our hands touched, and I smiled a little. Near had absolutely no idea how to comfort someone, but he did try.

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_A/N: So, what do you think? Should I continue? Please review and tell me! XD. And I'm sorry this chapter was so morbid; I promise that if I continue they won't be as bloody from now on._

_And you know what? It's actually a little strange to write a doujinshi where nobody swears. Yeah, yeah… I'll get used to it… Assuming I'm going to continue with it… Please review, I need to make a decision. :P_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Here's me, acting on the influence of only one review so far. I don't own death note. Or my OC. Long story… lol._

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_It was happening again, just like that time. The noise was devastating, although that was the least of my worries. With every exaggerated BANG my body jerked, blood spilling before my eyes. The red was tinged orange behind the goggles that masked my wide, grey eyes. I struggled for every breath, and the rest of the world was moving in slow motion. I saw each bullet coming, but there was no way I could move. I gasped, trying to stay alive._

_Another one, in the middle of my chest, and my head snapped back. I saw my shooter. His blonde hair blew back from his face in the wind, also moving too slowly to be natural. The scar that stretched across his face twisted his expression slightly, but I could clearly see the curl of his lip. His mouth was slightly open; laughing. Laughing. I heard the sound; it haunted me as I staggered backwards, crashing to the ground._

_I died slowly against the car, and the light of the cigarette in my mouth faded at the same time as the fire in my eyes. As I spiralled upwards, out of the scene, a saw it fall from the mouth of my motionless body. I screamed._

"MAIL!" I woke up yelling his name. My eyes snapped open at the pressure on my arm, flinching away. I clutched my heart and shook my head, trying to get rid of my nightmare. I squeezed my eyes shut, then opened them again. I saw Near, leaning towards me with a concerned expression. It took me a second to realise that I'd fallen asleep in the chair next to the infirmary bed.

It was a recurring nightmare I always had. I knew I was him; that I was experiencing the last few moments of his life. Of course, it couldn't be accurate. I didn't know how it felt to be shot. And the shooter…

I'd only seen him once before, the man who took Mail's life… got him killed, even if it had been for the good of the world… but I remembered him, and his form was one of a horror for me. The time I had seen him, he'd had two bruises on his face in addition to the scar, a collection that was added to when my brother had punched him for no apparent reason. Apart from that, I had noticed the gun on his belt, as I had noticed the one on Mail's. I hated the memory of them. This man… killed people? And he took my brother along with him.

I returned to the present, looking back at Near, and sighing. "I'm okay." I said. "I'm sorry." Near frowned, then took a few seconds before speaking.

"Uh…" He said, confusing me. He never said 'uh'. "Do you want to talk about it…?" Ah. Right. Near, trying to be comforting. It would have been funny, had I not been so shaken. He usually left the comfort stuff up to Halle; although she could be cold at times, too. I had a feeling she'd lost somebody close to her, as well, though she never said anything.

"Near…" I replied, choosing my words carefully. "… You knew Mello, didn't you?" Near's expression darkened.

"You had a dream about Mello?" He asked, then; "Yes, I did know him." I sighed.

"What was he like?" I asked. Near coughed.

"Well… I suppose he was a good person at heart." I could tell Near was struggling, and I let him. I wanted to know who the man of my nightmares was. "He had a strong inferiority complex; he… disliked people he thought were better than him." His features twitched slightly, and I could tell that 'disliked' probably wasn't an accurate verb. "… But he never did anything without a reason. He never really meant to harm anybody." Why did I feel like that was a lie? "And…" Near sighed. "He was a good friend to your brother…" He looked as if he was glad his explanation was over. I persisted.

"But you didn't like him?"

"Well… not as such, no…" He was being careful, as if trying not to say anything beyond what I could listen to. Nothing about Mail, I guessed.

"Did he…" I didn't know how to say this. " Did he know what was going to… to happen?" Comprehension came to Near's features.

"No." He said, quietly. "He didn't. He wouldn't have…" I understood. My nightmares were stupid, and I knew that. That wouldn't stop them coming. Mello would always be evil in my mind. I hated that – he had probably been a decent guy. I stood up, and Near got out of his sickbed, walking with me as I left the room. I hadn't realised the time, or known how long I'd been asleep for, so I it surprised me to find that it was dark outside. It was probably almost midnight.

Despite this, Halle, Rester and Gevanni were all still working on computers. Near went to his place between Gevanni and Rester. I noticed Gevanni cast him an indecipherable look, and my eyes narrowed as I sat next to Halle. I wondered what that look was about.

I didn't do anything over the next half hour, I just watched what the others were doing. They paid no attention to me; knowing that they could trust me. Near was working on a new case. A serial killer. They didn't know who he was, but I had a feeling that Near was close. Suddenly, Halle spoke up.

"Near! I have positive ID on the suspect." She said. Everybody crowded around her, and Near was the only one who stayed calm.

"Have you got a photograph?" he asked, looking over her shoulder.

She continued typing while she spoke. "No, but it should only take a minute to find one–" she broke off, suddenly as a picture came up, and I heard her gasp. Suddenly she was up out of her chair, dashing out of the room. My eyes followed her, and then I looked back at the screen, mouth open in surprise. It was, no doubt, a picture of the suspect. I'd never seen him before, but…

I didn't understand why this would have significance for her, but it did for me. The man didn't look anything like him, but for the long blond hair that came down to below his chin. The others were even more confused than I was, talking and frowning. They didn't seem to have picked up the connection, as I probably wouldn't have if I didn't see Mello every night in my nightmares. They didn't notice me as I slipped away, my mind whirring.

Had she been thinking about Mello? But surely she'd only met him once? Near had told me about that time – when he'd brought her in on gun point to get his picture back. Near had chuckled while telling me the story, and when I asked him why, he had only muttered something about déjà vu. I felt close to some sort of discovery as I looked through the building to find Halle.

Suddenly, I saw her. She hadn't gone very far, and she was leaning against the wall of the hallway, looking down at a small object in her hand.

I froze, eyes widening, and time seemed to slow down as a single tear splashed onto the metal of the small, gold crucifix.

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_A/N: I wasn't too happy with how the first chapter came out, and this one was only a little better. Still, I'm posting it. I hope you like it! The 'déjà vu' was in reference to chapter 32 (?) of Three Disciples of L. The scene in my fanfic was based on the actual scene. Except in my version, it was Mello who was being led along… lol._

_Oh, and explanations will come in the next chapter._


	3. Chapter 3

_Hmmm… so much for that last chapter not being morbid… So… One of my heroines has nightmares about Mello and the other is in love with him. Interesting._

_I don't own Death Note. If I did, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction. That would be ridiculous. Writing a fanfiction to your own story… Pffft…_

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"Halle…?" I asked tentatively, taking a small step towards her. She looked up, and it seemed that, though she was surprised by my presence, she didn't really care that I was there. Her eyes were red and she clutched the rosary she wore around her neck. I had never noticed it before – she wore it under her shirt and the chain was inconspicuous. It was strange, though. I hadn't known she was Catholic.

"Ella." She said, acknowledging me bitterly. I blinked, and then gasped. The missing link clicked into place. I recognised that necklace. It was possible that it wasn't the same one, of course – I didn't have a photographic memory – but it made sense.

He had worn it flamboyantly, as he'd worn everything else. I remembered the contrast of gold cross against black leather, and it swung with his every movement. That was Mello's crucifix. And she could only have it for one reason.

"Halle," I looked her in the eyes, "you were in love with Mello, weren't you?" She didn't say anything, she just raised her hand to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose. I took it as confirmation. This was so awkward, although the extent of it may have only been known to me. One of us loved him, the other feared him. And it was futile, because he was no longer alive.

I spoke, half trying to relieve the tension, half trying to comfort her. "If it weren't for him, everyone would be dead." She looked at me then, fierce anger flashing across her face as she clenched both hands into fists.

"You think I don't know that?" She snapped. "I know he died for us. For me. And I have no idea if he meant to die in my place. I can't help but think it's my fault he's dead! I would rather have died…" I knew what she meant. And worse was the unavoidable knowledge that she was so much stronger than me. She hadn't tried to commit suicide. I was always the weak one.

I didn't speak for a while, gathering my thoughts. "I'm sorry, Halle." I said, unsure of what her reaction would be. She only sighed, squeezing the crucifix tighter. I saw her bite her lip as the sharp edge cut into her skin, though her grip did not loosen. The blood mingled with her tears, bringing a melancholy feeling that I couldn't shake off. I walked over to her and leaned against the wall as well, choosing comfort through silence.

After a while, I spoke up. "Near." I said, and she understood. Near would come looking for us soon, and it would not take him long to figure it out. I was sure she didn't want him to know. I searched in my pocket and found a crumpled up tissue, which she used to dry her eyes and then clenched her hand around it, covering up the blood. She put the rosary back in its place underneath her shirt.

When I looked at her properly, she was composed. To an outsider, it would seem as if nothing had happened – but I could see some of the hurt still lingering in her eyes. Neither of us looked up as Near came out into the hallway, although we knew he was there. He seemed to know that we were aware of his presence. I glanced at his face, which had a puzzled expression on it. I thought I knew why, until he walked towards us.

He then did something which made me want to laugh; he stood beside me, and tried to lean casually against the wall. I could only assume he was trying to figure out what sort of appeal the wall held for us. Despite being a year older than me – he was eighteen now, while I was seventeen– he was only about one inch taller than me. His white sleeve brushed against my arm as he brought his hand up to curl a strand of hair round his finger. It was a while before he said anything.

"We found the location of the suspect." He said. "It should only be a day or so before we can move in." And by that, he meant the agents could move in, while he gave them instructions from HQ. I would be with him, no doubt.

"I see…" Lidner said absently, and when I turned to see her face she was looking up at the ceiling. It was rather funny, actually – she was by far the tallest of all of us; with me being naturally short while Near was stuck somewhere prior to adolescence. I had to look up at her, and Near was no doubt doing the same. The three of us were quiet, and none of us did anything, even when Rester and Gevanni came to see what was taking us so long. Gevanni laughed, seemingly at Near's awkward stance, but other than that they didn't make any sounds either.

After a few seconds, both of them came to join us, standing next to Near and absent-mindedly leaning against the wall. Rester folded his arms, and Gevanni stuck his hands in his pockets Lidner's hand lingered on her neck. We could see one of the many screens set around the building, on the wall opposite us, and so when a large J appeared on it – the code for the Japanese NPA – none of us moved.

Since Kira was no longer around, there was a camera underneath each of the screens so that some of our contacts – depending on who they were – could see us. After a second, the J on the screen was also replaced by footage of a room with five people in it.

"Near." Said one of them – calling him Near instead of L for secrecy. Then he saw us, and laughed out loud. "Near, what are you _doing_?" He spluttered. He was speaking in Japanese, and I could understand it fairly well. Near's eyes snapped up to look at the screen.

"Matsuda?" He said, in a voice which – to those who didn't know him – might have sounded normal. To me, however, it was fairly easy to recognise the sharpness in his words. Word, really. Name. "What do you want?" He used Japanese as well. I could tell he was annoyed by the black-haired man's laughter, but he made no effort to move away from the wall. Another man elbowed Matsuda out of the way, leaning towards the microphone.

"We have a problem we want you to help us with." He said, and I couldn't help but smirk at Matsuda still laughing in the background.

"Of course," said Near seriously, "what is it?" The five men in the room wore grave faces, and even Matsuda sobered up.

"We have a serial kidnapper on our hands." The Japanese agent gulped. "We haven't been able to ascertain whether or not he murders the people he kidnaps, but no bodies have been found so far, and we have no idea as to his location."

Near frowned. "And why this particular case?" I was confused as well. This seemed like the sort of case Near solved daily.

The man's expression was hard, but for a second it cracked and I could see tragedy within it. "My sixteen-year-old daughter was abducted yesterday." He whispered. Near blinked, and then I saw resolve settle over his features.

"All right." He said. "We'll do whatever we can to assist you." He pushed away from the wall, and we all followed him, moving towards the room the team usually used for communications. He swiftly sat in a chair, with one knee next to his chin and the other leg dangling. He grabbed a headset, and the others followed his lead. I did, too. I wanted to know what was happening. He pressed a button, and the task force flashed up on the screens all around us. "Give us the situation in full." Near said, professional mode switching on immediately.

I sighed. This was going to be a long night.

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_A/N: I'm going with the anime ages for this one, although I probably didn't for Matt and Mello. Sorry if it's confusing… So, Near is eighteen – a year after the Kira case – and Ella is seventeen. I'm just guessing Yumi Aizawa's age – and yes, it _was_ Aizawa's daughter who got kidnapped. Oh, and I'm also sorry that I didn't include any explanations. It will come out, eventually._

_I think, in the next chapters, Matsuda will become quite a big part of the story. I'm not sure, though. I just wanted to include him in a fanfiction that also has Near in it. Hmmm… I wonder how they're going to get along… lol…_

_Sorry for the long Author's Note._

_I should stop saying sorry._


	4. Chapter 4

_I don't own Death Note. I give that grace to Obha and Obata. Not that is was my grace to give in the first place. Because I don't own it._

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_I could see it so clearly. His blue eyes were cold, dead, and the smirk on his face was humourless. But his laugh… I saw the scene for the hundredth time, but, as I rose upwards yet again, I couldn't shake the fear, the pain that shook through me with every non-breath…_

A snapped out of my dream, screaming again. But, this time, my yell was muffled by something pressed against my face. I raised my head, and found I'd fallen asleep against the desk, and my headset was slightly askew over my ears. I rubbed my eyes, ridding them of sleepiness as I yawned, then stretched. I opened my eyes again. The other four were still tapping away at the keys; I was the only one who had succumbed to my exhaustion.

I removed my headset, looking around me. It was evident that it was near the morning; I could see the sunrise out the windows. For the part of the night I'd stayed awake, we had found nothing on the kidnapper. I wasn't worrying, though. Near would find him. I'd had faith in Near ever since he'd taken me in.

I'd left school at the age of sixteen, also leaving behind my orphanage. I rented a place in a small apartment building which, as far as I knew, had nobody else living in it. I'd lived off the insurance my parents had left for a while, but when it had started to run out, I worried about what would happen to me. I knew my job at a fast food restaurant wouldn't be enough to support me. And it had been then that Mail had arrived. After that, I had a lot more to worry about.

My worries were justified. Not a month had passed before I heard the news of his death – just an unidentified accomplice in a kidnapping; a nothing. Shot down like a dog at an intersection in two Tokyo streets. Tears welled up in my eyes every time I thought of the news report that had informed me, coldly, that the only person I had to rely on was no longer in this world. Every time, I wondered if I would rather never know what would happen to him. What would you rather? To never know, or to see your brother die on T.V?

I was so grateful to Near, I couldn't express it. He'd let me stay with him and the SPK – although it wasn't technically called the SPK anymore – and was now my self-proclaimed guardian. If not for him, I probably would have never gone out again, and starved to death. As it was, I…

I attempted suicide. It was stupid, so stupid. It had been worse, that day. I'd remembered my parents, and thought about how much I missed them, although I barely knew them. But still, to throw away everything like that… I didn't want to think about it. And, worse than that... I'd managed to hurt somebody else. Not just somebody else; but Near, the one who had just about helped me through this. I was disgusted at myself – not that it helped.

I shook my head in order to clear it of such thoughts, and then walked over to Near, leaning over his shoulder. "Have you found anything new?" I asked. He shook his head.

"All the leads we've found so far have turned out to be false. So many I'm beginning to get suspicious. Somebody could be planting these…" The rest of them looked at him quizzically.

"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Lidner asked. Near kept his gaze on the computer screen.

"I wanted to wait to tell everyone." He said. Again, this would have been a suitable thing for somebody else to say, but it wasn't like him. He wouldn't normally have waited. I frowned.

"You could have woken me up." I said. "And you didn't have to wait to tell me. It's not as if I'm really useful in these investigations." Near didn't say anything, so the others just turned back to their own work, and I straightened up, looking at all of them.

"I'm making coffee," I declared after a few seconds, "anybody want some?" Lidner, Rester and Gevanni all nodded wordlessly, but Near didn't respond at all. Of course he didn't need coffee. He seemed to be able to stay awake for days working on a case without any need of assistance. I sighed, and headed to the kitchen.

I rooted around in the kitchen cupboard before I found the instant coffee, flicking the jug on with one hand and pouring the dark powder into four cups with the other. Nothing came out. Upon closer inspection I realised there was only a trickle of damp powder left in the packet. "Fudge…" I muttered, wondering why it was damp, and wandered towards the store-rooms we used to keep extra food supplies. There was enough tinned stuff in there to last the ice-age. One thing was for sure; if the SPK expected to survive an epidemic with this stuff, there would be coffee.

Now there was just the problem of finding it. I crouched to sweep the lower shelves with my gaze, but there was no sign of it. I frowned, running my gaze along each shelf in turn. Finally, I glimpsed the unmistakeable packets. I approached them, reaching through instant soup and other things to find what I was looking for. I froze as something caught my eye. Something… orange…

My eyes widened, forgetting the coffee, as I pulled the object out from the back of the shelf. Even covered in dust, I knew what these were.

Goggles.

The jug whistled in the other room, and I was suddenly aware of both the silence, and the darkness that was only perforated by the sliver of light coming through the half-open door.

These were Mail's goggles. I turned them over and over, gasping in pain when I saw the dark red stain on the underside of the left lens. A blood stain. My fist clenched around the strap and I leaned against the shelves, tears already spilling from my eyes.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, clutching the goggles to my chest and sobbing into my sleeve. Long enough for Near to come looking for me.

"Ella…?" He said, and I heard the door open. He hadn't known I was there, he was just looking. "Are you there?" I assume he saw me then, because he didn't leave. It took me a second, but I looked at him. He was standing in the doorway, frozen with something that could have been shock. "…Ella…" he started towards me, reaching out with his hand, but stopped short, lowering his arm.

I held up the goggles. "When?" I choked through the tears blinding me. He blinked.

When he spoke, his voice was full of some emotion that could have been concern. "When we recovered his body." He stopped talking with something that could have been tact. Then he started again. "I wanted to keep them, so that when… when you recovered enough I could… He would have wanted you to have them."

Suddenly, he approached me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

There was none of his usual awkwardness, he was just hugging me because I needed to be hugged. I clung to him, one hand fisting around the loose fabric on his shirt, the other clutching the goggles. I rested my head on his shoulder, my cheek touching his neck. My tears flowed across his neck and down to his shoulder, coming back to my chin.

"I'm sorry, Ella…" He whispered. His arms tightened around me. It was something that could have been…

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_A/N: so, yeah… more angst… and possible NearxOC… Although I _did_ warn you. I think. Anyway, don't throw stuff at me, but I think this couple is cute. I do. Sorry._

_Ahw, crap… I said sorry again… still… More chapters coming soon…_

_And I should stop using ellipses in my author's notes._


	5. Chapter 5

_Hmmm… Writer's block sucks… I don't own death note, by the way, in case you didn't pick that up over the last four disclaimers…_

_This chapter will be a little different. You might be sceptical, but…_

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With Near hugging me, it only took a few minutes for my tears to dry. I'd never realised how warm he could be… how human. He was usually so awkward and cold, and I hadn't suspected him of actually being able to sympathise with people. Maybe it was just me, or maybe it wasn't.

He pulled away from me slightly, looking into my eyes, concern lacing his features. Then he smiled, half-heartedly. "He would have wanted you to have them." He repeated, this time in a whisper. I turned my red eyes to the hand that was holding Mail's goggles. Slowly, I brought them to my face, sliding the strap over my head. I cleared my hair away, and then looked up.

Everything looked the same as it usually did, but with a very slight orange tinge. Before I had time to look around very much though, Near tightened his embrace again, pulling me closer to him. My eyes widened, and I blinked behind the goggles. Then I relaxed, hugging him back. I felt butterflies in my stomach.

"Holy shit…" Somebody said. But neither of us heard them. Because there was no voice to hear.

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"Shit!" He growled. "Goddammit!" His fist slammed into the wall, and he hated the fact that it made no sound. "…Little piece of… SHIT!" he yelled.

"What the hell, Matt…?" a calm voice came from behind him. He didn't bother to turn; he knew who it was. There was only one person who knew he was there. The blond apparition was always with him these days – namely because there was nobody else to talk to. Literally nobody.

"Mello…" His voice was still threaded through with anger. "Look." It was more a command than a request. The other man looked to where Matt was pointing, narrowing his eyes.

"…What the…?" Mello asked, shocked.

"I know." Matt hissed, pulling his goggles from up to the top of his head. "It's disgusting." The blond snorted.

"I'll say. Near's finally got a love life!" he was joking, before he saw the expression on Matt's face. He raised an eyebrow. "Old girlfriend of yours?" he asked. Matt rounded on him.

"The HELL, Mello?!" He yelled. "Does she _look_ like an old girlfriend of mine??" He let out another angry breath, turning back to the subject of his rage. "…She's my sister."

The silence was tangible.

"Um…" Mello spoke after a few moments, seemingly at a loss for words. "…shit…?" It sounded like a question; and it didn't have any of the backbone Matt was using in his curses. Curses that were becoming more frequent and varied by the minute.

They were only embracing, but the implications were clear. As soon as Matt thought that, though, they pulled apart a little, looking into the other's eyes. Neither of them said anything, and the ghostly – and invisible – redhead's eyes widened as they leaned towards each other, eyes sliding closed.

Before he knew what he was doing, Matt dashed towards them, drawing his clenched fist back.

"Matt…" Mello cautioned. "You know that won't work. You don't have enough substance to–"

THWAK!!

Mello frowned in surprise, but before he had time to comment on the fact that it had actually worked, Matt was stomping towards Near, who had staggered backwards to the floor.

Near opened his mouth in surprise, but shut it abruptly when he was hauled to his feet by his collar. Matt snarled, face inches from the smaller boy's.

"What the HELL kind of respect for the dead do you call that, you… you ASSHOLE!" he yelled into Near's face, which had turned white with shock.

"M-Matt??" He whispered, but the redhead barely paused for breath. Matt kept shouting in long streams of swearwords and accusations, before he cut himself off, looking down at his hands.

"Shit!" he exclaimed, grabbing at Near, but his fading fingers slipped through and the other boy crashed to the ground again. He flickered, then disappeared from sight.

Seconds passed.

"…M-Mail…?" Ella stuttered, finally moving from where she'd been frozen. She hurried to where Near was sitting up, looking as if… well, as if he'd just seen a ghost. The white-haired boy blinked, staring into the place where Matt had been only moments before.

Matt, invisible again, sighed. For a few seconds he'd been… well… _alive_ again. He could only assume rage had forced him into a physical form, and he was glad of it. That had been satisfying, and he couldn't say he felt bad about the large bruise blossoming over Near's cheek. Still, it was irritating. The only person who could see him, or hear his words, was now Mello. When Matt looked, the blond was leaning forwards and grinning.

"Hah!" he said, taunting Near despite the fact that only Matt could hear him. "Wish I was you…" He said to Matt, who scowled.

"No, you don't…" He said. Mello straightened up, and Matt could tell he felt awkward without a bar of chocolate to aid his taunting. As it was, the red-headed ghost missed his cigarettes, too. It wasn't like he could experience withdrawal – he couldn't actually feel _anything_ – but it was just force of habit. As far as he could tell, the two of them were projections of what they generally looked like. Matt was still wearing his goggles on top of his head, although Ella was now wearing the pair he'd worn when he was alive.

Of course, if they looked as they looked when they died… That was too morbid for anybody to think. And speaking of morbid… Matt leaned down towards Near, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"Stay away from my sister." He said harshly, and he hoped the words got through. Damned bastard…

-----------------------

_A/N: Oookay, so… I hope that wasn't too surreal, because my story basically just turned around. While the first four chapters were down-to-earth and tragic, this chapter is… well… ghost Matty punching Near in the face._

_But seriously, I couldn't write a fanfiction without Matt and Mello in it. I'm sorry this chapter had so much swearing in it, if that offends you. Please don't stop reading! (actually, that sounds rather attention-seeking but… what the hell.)_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Hi._

_I don't own death note._

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My breath was too loud. I was afraid I would break the silence just by continuing to inhale and exhale. It seemed like Near hadn't blinked for a minute now. He was sitting up, but not in his usual style. He was leaning back on his hands, and I sensed that he couldn't move. His shock was a different kind of shock. It wasn't the open-mouthed shock, but the cautious, analyzing type of shock. He stared into thin air, his mouth pressed into a thin, hard line.

"… Near…?" I asked, tentatively, but it still shattered the silence effectively. He didn't look at me.

"… Matt…" he whispered, as if testing the waters with my brother's alias. "… Can you hear me…?" No answer came, and Near sighed. He finally turned to face me. "You saw that as well?" He asked. Too calm. Way too calm. I nodded shakily, not trusting my voice. Near turned his head back towards where the apparition had been. "It seems as if… ghosts… do exist…" He said, wondering. I didn't like it. He should be screaming, as I wanted to. I didn't find Mail's form particularly frightening, but that…

I struggled to say something. "He… uh… did he usually swear that much w-when I wasn't around…?" it seemed like a stupid question.

Near laughed, and I heard, for the first time, some sort of fear. "No." the answer was short, but it said everything it needed to. Then he continued. "I assume he… they…" I shuddered at the thought that there could be more, "…would not have a physical form most of the time. But something… something caused him to appear."

I could guess. "Rage, maybe…?" my voice was thick with sarcasm, if only to hide my shock. Near smiled wryly.

"Yes, maybe…" I only realised then that we were both talking quietly, as if we were being cautious. Suddenly, Near blinked in realisation. "… hmmm… If Matt is a ghost, then… Mello could be here as well." I gasped. Of course he was right, and it made me shiver. It was then that, I assumed, Near decided he needed to think logically about this. He moved so that he was sitting in his usual position, with his chin resting on his knee. I kneeled beside him.

"If rage could bring Matt back," he hypothesized, "then how is it we haven't seen Mello at all over the past year?" he smirked. I winced to see his expression warped a little by the gigantic bruise that kept his left eye from opening fully. "Mello?" he called out. "If you're there, I suppose I would like to thank you. You became very useful during the end of the investigation." I frowned. What was he trying to do?

"Of course," he continued, "you could have just told me about the fake notebook straight out. While the kidnapping did drive the point home a little more forcefully, I have to say that it was incredibly childish of you." What was he _doing_? Trying to provoke Mello? Actually… He could be trying to do just that. If anger could bring Mail into a physical form, then obviously it should be able to work with his partner as well. I was guessing Near didn't like Mail's type of anger. I couldn't help a smug smile as it settled over my face. It deepened when I realised I must look exactly like Near.

He was still talking. "But then, you always had to be dramatic, didn't you? Come in with a bang, go out with a bang. It's all so important. What you don't realise is how little it effects me. I honestly don't care." I shuddered. This wasn't a side of Near I liked. "Did you hear me?" He asked, raising his voice and still smirking arrogantly. "I said I don't c–"

He was cut off as he was smashed into the shelves at the far end of the room.

"NEAR!" I yelled, getting up swiftly and dashing after him. He sank to the floor, and looked winded, but still triumphant. There was no sign of Mello. If he had actually been visible at all, it had only been for a few seconds. Mail had been present for about half a minute.

"Wow…" I whispered, looking away from Near. "… he must have been angry…" Near knew I was talking about Mail.

"Y-yes…" he choked out, still smiling. My eyes widened.

"Near, how bad are you hurt?" I asked.

"I'm f… fine…" he gasped back. I didn't buy it, but before I could say anything else, I heard footsteps, then a sharp intake of breath.

"What… what happened here?!" I turned my head to see Halle standing in the doorway with a shocked expression on her face. And she hadn't even seen half of it…

-----------------------

"…Hal…" Mello breathed. Matt rolled his eyes. A second earlier the blond had been tearing his hair out, even though it had been perfectly obvious that Near was trying to provoke a reaction out of him. Now the other ghost was approaching the woman in the doorway, reaching his hand out towards her. It was useless; even before he had time to reach her, Halle Lidner stepped right through his arm and towards Near and Ella.

During the year of non-existence, Matt had learned a lot about Mello's relationship with Halle. It was perfectly obvious how he felt about her; he had turned away from Matt when he talked about the phone call, when he had last talked to her openly. Apart from that, the only time they had seen each other, they had pretended they didn't know one another. Mello had arrived on the scene – a scene that Matt had set up – and convinced the FBI agent to let him take Takada Kiyomi away from her bodyguards. Needless to say, it had worked. The last thing Mello had done to Halle was take advantage of the fact that she was in love with him. Matt could see he hated himself for that. Just as he hated himself for telling her that he didn't love her.

Mello spun on his heel, turning to look at Halle again. The woman was kneeling next to Near with a worried look in her eyes.

"What's going on…?" She asked warily. Near chuckled, then winced.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He said. He seemed a little insensible. Ella was more alert.

"I think he's hurt badly." She said, biting her lip. Halle looked at her, confusion playing across her face, before she nodded.

"We probably have to carry him." She said. With Ella's help, she lifted the eighteen-year-old into the air and began carrying him down the hallway. A second later, Mello grabbed hold of Matt's arm and led him in the same direction, a pained look on his face.

"…Mello…" Matt said cautiously. Even he wasn't sure what he meant, but probably something along the lines of; 'nothing good is going to come of this…'

When they reached the main room, Rester and Gevanni turned to see what was going on. Questions rose into their wide eyes before their professionalism kicked in. Five minutes, and Near was back in the infirmary.

"This is the second time in 48 hours…" Gevanni grimaced. "… What the hell is going on…?" he said it more to himself than anybody else; they all ignored him. But Matt frowned. What had happened to land Near in 'hospital' twice in two days. Matt hadn't been there until a few hours ago, he had arrived back while Ella was sleeping and the others were investigating some case. The advantage of being a ghost was that he didn't need to eat or sleep. Or buy plane tickets, so he was able to go practically everywhere without any expense. Or any mass, but that didn't matter. He and Mello'd had a few things to visit back in England – at Wammy's house.

What had happened the other day…? He glanced at Mello, who had been with him, and had no more idea of what had happened than he did. The blond looked at him, clueless. They both shrugged wordlessly.

-----------------------

_A/N: ok… so… trying to sneak the fic back to somewhat believable, but I'm afraid it's stuck like this. I suppose I could treat it as an experiment. I can't help but feel that Ghost Matt and Ghost Mello are going to become main characters._

_Sorry to the Near fans, I don't hate him or anything, in fact he's one of my favourite four characters. Yes, I'm twisted like that._

_More chapters coming… _fairly_ soon…_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: my friend is annoyed at me for not letting Near kiss Ella in chapter five. She thinks they're a cute couple, but I'm not making this fic that cheesy… yet… lol…_

_I don't own death note._

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My dreams were more potent that night, and every bullet that hit me hurt just that much more. I woke up, as I usually did, screaming. It was the middle of the night. I sighed and got up, knowing I'd be unable to sleep again. I couldn't help feeling that I had a spirit lurking behind me.

I decided to go talk to Halle, despite the fact that a glance at my alarm clock told me it was two in the morning. She was awake when I entered her room, sitting in bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, gazing up at the ceiling. She looked towards me when I came in, nodding in acceptance.

I sat down on the end of the bed, leaning against the wall. We sat in silence for a few seconds. Then; "Do you want to talk about it…?" We asked simultaneously. We looked at each other. Halle raised her eyebrows.

"No." I said. "I'm okay. What about you?"

She sighed. "I don't know… If only he were still here… Even if he didn't love me… I still miss him." I nodded, glad she was honest with me. It chilled me to know that he might actually be here. I was wrong, of course, but that changed soon.

-----------------------

"Mello." Matt called. "Oi, Mello." The subject of his impatience looked up from where he was leaning against the wall in the hallway, eyes questioning. "You might wanna see this." The blond followed him wordlessly, fingers closing around his crucifix. Matt had followed Ella when she woke up – he had been standing outside her room, worried. His worries were only increased when he heard a yell from within the room, and was about to enter it when the door opened outwards and swung right through him. It was disorientating, having people walk through him. He still looked completely solid to himself and Mello, but looks were always deceiving.

They entered Lidner's room through the thankfully open door – not that it would have hindered them if it were closed, Matt just didn't like the feeling of walking through solid walls – and leaned against the wall opposite from Ella and Halle.

"I-I just…" Halle sighed again, "I don't know… I just wish he was here." Her fingers automatically moved to her neck, fingering the beads of the rosary she wore under her nightshirt. Mello blinked as she pulled the beads and brought the cross to her other hand, clutching it.

"I… She… What?" He frowned, holding his own crucifix in front of his face. He turned to Matt, confused.

Matt shrugged. "So? Ella has my goggles." She did, and she was still wearing them on top of her head, despite the fact that it was night time. Nobody had commented on that fact, possibly out of tact, but possibly because they hadn't noticed. She looked so natural wearing them that it was unlikely anyone would see anything out of place.

"But…" Mello continued. "But the church was burning. Don't you remember?" Matt did remember. Mello had told him all about how he had stumbled out of the building, wondering why he wasn't dead, and why the fire wasn't burning him. Of course, he _was _dead, but he hadn't known that at the time.

"She must have gone in to see you…" Matt thought aloud. "And then, I suppose… She just… picked it up…?"

Mello's eyes softened. "I guess so…" While this conversation was going on, Ella had leaned over and was patting Halle on the back comfortingly. Matt looked at Mello, and he could see how painful it was to know that this was his fault. Just as it was painful for Matt to know that Ella's nightmares were his fault. Not that he had wanted to die.

"It's okay…" Ella said softly. "… Maybe he felt the same way about you…?" It was more a question than a reassurance, and in any case, it didn't work. Halle turned away and let out a quiet sob. Ella's eyes widened. "God, Halle, I'm sorry… Did I say something wrong…?"

Halle sniffed. "No…" She said shakily. "No you didn't. And no, he didn't."

"What? How could you know that…?"

"H-he told me…" She whispered, tears sliding down her face. "He told me he didn't love me…" Matt whipped around to be faced with the shock and guilt frozen on Mello's face. The blond ghost stumbled a few steps forward, hand outstretched. Then he went to sit beside Halle, although she couldn't see him.

Slowly, he wrapped his ghostly, though opaque, arms around her.

She leaned into him, closing her eyes. For a few seconds he smiled, but then he stiffened. She had leaned into him. She could… feel him…

"H-Halle…" Ella stuttered, bordering on hysteria already. Halle's eyes snapped open as she registered how far away Ella's voice was. The next thing she saw was the gold cross dangling before her eyes. Mello released her abruptly, and she stared at him. Wordlessly, she reached out and pushed his hair away from his face, gazing into his deep blue eyes. It only took Mello a second to realise how much time he had. It was his nature to be impulsive.

Before Halle had time to say anything, he took her face in his hands and crushed his lips to hers. A shaky breath caught in her throat, and a minute gasp found it's way into the air. Mello deepened the kiss, his fingers lacing through her hair.

Then he flickered away.

Nobody spoke until the after-image faded as well. "… Mello…" Halle whispered.

Mello closed his eyes. "It's Mihael." He whispered back, despite the fact that she couldn't hear him. "Mihael Keehl."

It would have mattered, back when he was alive. But now… Now it was only something that seemed like it mattered, something that reminded people. Matt was the only one who heard the gesture that seemed to matter so much.

When Mihael Keehl opened his eyes, a single tear fell.

-----------------------

I'd finally seen him for a second time, and he was nothing like the Mello of my nightmares. He looked the same, but different. He had no morbid grin on his face. He wasn't holding a gun. And I wasn't sure, but I thought I saw tears glistening in his eyes. Now he was gone, and Halle was staring at the place where he had been.

It looked like Near had been right – but it wasn't just anger that caused Matt and Mello to become visible. It seemed that any strong emotion would do it. I understood that Near provoking him was not really enough reason for Mello to gain a physical form for long, but it seemed like Halle was.

He had lied to her. He did love her. He just didn't want to hurt her. And a year of being dead had only seemed to strengthen his love.

I hugged Halle, and let her sob into my shirt, shooting a warning glance into thin air, signalling the ghosts to leave. Whether they did or not, I had no idea.

-----------------------

_A/N: Okay, so I said I wasn't going to make it cheesy, right? Well, I changed my mind. HalxMello is cute, in my opinion, but tragic._

_I think I'm inadvertently making _everybody_ cry at some point. If not in _this_ fanfiction, in it's prequel. So far we have Near, Ella (several times), Hal, and – hard as it is to believe – Mello. Who will be next…? I would say Matt, but I don't really see him crying about _anything_, seeing as he's not in love and he isn't really that much of a crying person anyway._

_And sorry, Near fans, that I let Hal and Mello kiss and not Near and Ella. I'm sure my friends will kill me as soon as this is out. *Puts on brave face*… (Sweatdrop…)_

_Chapters soon._


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: Hi again. Chapter eight…_

_I don't own Death Note, much as I wish._

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Matt, of course, did not know what L looked like. If he had, however, he would have laughed at how much Mello resembled him at that moment. The blond ghost was leaning forward, looking up at Halle's face with a troubled expression. When Halle moved, leaning on Ella, Mello moved too, gazing up at her. It almost looked cute. Matt smirked. Ridiculous.

Ella shot a glare in his general direction; a glare that Matt could only take to mean that she wanted him to leave. He sighed, pushing away from the wall.

"Mello, we have to go." He said. "She needs privacy." The blond didn't move. Matt frowned, shaking Mello's shoulder. Still nothing. Finally, he grabbed the back of Mello's jacket and hauled him away.

His friend let out a small noise that sounded uncannily like a whine. Matt really did laugh when he heard that; albeit bitterly.

"Mello, you've done enough." He admonished, now in the hallway. He wished he could close the door, although there turned out to be no need for it. Mello leaned back against the wall darkly.

"Oh, yeah…" he muttered, "and of course your punching-Near-in-face routine was completely inconspicuous…"

Matt frowned. "That was an emergency."

"Emergency, my ass…" Mello grumbled. Matt sighed, knowing this was the closest he would get to forgiven.

-----------------------

"I-I _saw_ him…" Halle whispered. "With my own eyes. Before the fire…" She shuddered. Before the fire got to him, I guessed.

I didn't know what to say, but eventually resolved to tell her the truth. "I saw Mail yesterday." I said, and it sounded harsh, bitter. "So did Near." I left out the unimportant details; like Mail punching Near after he almost kissed me.

Halle didn't say anything for a while, then; "… Why did they come back now…?"

"I don't know." I replied. "Near supposed that anger or… or strong emotions could bring them back."

"Anger?"

I cursed myself inwardly. "Yes." I hoped that would be enough, but she waited for me to elaborate. "He… uh… he punched Near…"

"Ah… So that was what happened…" She chuckled. "Why?"

It was such an obvious question. "… He was about to kiss me…" I mumbled, like a disobedient student expecting punishment. Halle was shaking, and at first I thought she was crying. It became clear pretty soon, however, that she was laughing. Tears were streaming down her face, and I didn't know if they were left over from before or just because she was so amused. I scowled.

"I _knew_ it!" she spluttered. My scowl deepened. She was enjoying this… "I _knew _he had a thing for you! You two are so _cute_ together!!" I blinked. Now _that_ I wasn't expecting. Halle didn't usually treat me like a child, despite the fact that she was so much older than me. Now I felt more childish than I ever had in my life.

I pushed Halle away, deciding that she probably didn't need comforting anymore. I realised, too late, that this made me look even more trivial and childlike. Halle punched my arm lightly, still shaking with laughter.

"Shut up…" I scowled. "I don't like him, okay? As in _like _like." This was so _stupid_. I felt like a teenager in high school. Of course, I _was_ a teenager. And if I hadn't left school at sixteen I'd probably still be there. But that was besides the point.

"You do _so_!" Halle exclaimed, keeping up the charade. I sank lower into my darkness, and scowling was no longer an adequate word for what I was doing. My expression was some sort of twisted grimace. I decided not to say anything else, for fear of her finding more humour in it. She finally sobered up. "You should tell him." She said. I looked into her eyes to see that she was being deadly serious.

I bit my lip. "I don't know…" I said. "What if he doesn't…?" Halle dismissed that immediately.

"'Course he does." She said. "Take my word for it, Near has never, _ever_ tried to kiss somebody before."

I struggled for words. "But he… I… Near, he…"

"Ella…?" I heard a voice call from out in the hallway. I stiffened. It was him.

"I'm in here." I called back. Halle tried to disguise a giggle, and failed. Luckily it was too quiet for Near to hear. He appeared in the doorway, looking concerned.

"Can I come in?" He asked quietly.

"O-of course…" I hated the fact that I'd stuttered. Near entered the room, sitting down next to us.

-----------------------

"Matt…" Mello smirked, glad that he could accuse Matt of hypocrisy. "Give them some 'privacy'." He quoted his friend fairly calmly, considering his grip on Matt's shoulder was the only thing preventing him from following Near into the room. It was obvious Matt didn't trust him.

Mello didn't get it. Sure, it was _Near_, but were all brothers really that protective? And anyway, Hal was in there, too.

"Shut up, Mello." Matt shrugged away and went into the room. Mello followed, curious. This could be interesting.

-----------------------

"Why did you come…?" I asked.

Near looked a little embarrassed, which was a first. "I… I wanted to know you were okay…" He said, looking down at his knees. Halle stood up.

"I should… uh… I have things to…" unable to come up with a good excuse, she left.

Inconspicuously.

Near frowned. It was obvious to his genius mind why Halle had left, but I doubted he had any idea what to do about it. Besides, I could tell he was wary of Matt, who was probably in the room. The awkward silence intensified with that thought. Whether or not it was just me, I couldn't tell.

I had the urge to say '… so…', in a questioning voice, but decided I'd probably end up regretting it. Near looked like he was having an intense debate inside his head. For all I knew, he probably was.

"… It looks like we have a case on our hands…" I jumped at the sudden attempt at conversation, but it sounded so normal. As if we had been talking before. I relaxed, and thought about what he'd said.

"I suppose so…" I said warily.

"Allow me to elaborate." He said, suddenly formal. "If Matt and Mello are here, as ghosts, then where are the others…?" I blinked, and then got it. Shouldn't the world be crawling with ghosts? Billions of them. But why only Mail and Mello? Assuming that they weren't just the only ones who _appeared_. But still, why them…?

"Unfinished business…?" I asked.

"But what would that _be_?" Near's brow crinkled into a frown. "As far as I can tell, Mello died with complete closure. He saved the world from Kira. And Matt… I can't see anything he would need to finish. Except maybe making sure you were fine. But then, why Mello as well…?"

I blinked, as I realised what Mello's 'unfinished business' might be.

-----------------------

_A/N: sooo… Yet another case for the mighty L. Or the mighty Near, at least. Goddammit, Near _is_ L. Anyone care to guess why Mello might have come back…?_

_The part I like best out of this boring-ish chapter is Mello whining. Lol. It makes me picture him as a puppy, or something. Weird. XP. Matt's usually the puppy. In a non-yaoi way. (And no, I don't know how you could interpret that as yaoi either, but people have their ways…)_

_Ummm… I have a feeling I was going to say something important, but it's probably just… um…_

_Bye. Cya next chapter._


	9. Chapter 9

_Hi again. Lol. Chapter located _here_: (after the disclaimer.)_

_I don't own death note. (see.)_

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Matt regarded Near with a scrutiny that didn't alleviate even after five minutes had passed. Mello still thought he was going over the top. Near hadn't exactly tried anything yet, although – to be fair to Matt – he probably knew that the two spirits were in the room.

It felt weird for Mello to be the one who was apathetic, while Matt was the one with the grudge. Matt, on the other hand, was wishing he could light up a cigarette. He didn't know why, maybe just because he would look more intimidating. Not that Near could see him; or – come to think of it – if something happened and he became visible, he probably wouldn't be worried about _looking _intimidating. It would be all too easy, with his sister's innocence as an incentive.

It had occurred to him, once or twice, that maybe he _was_ being ridiculous. But, despite the fact that Ella wasn't really at risk, it was entirely a matter of principal. At the moment, Near and Ella were awkwardly discussing the possibility of this becoming a case. Matt and Mello had already considered this, but they could really do no more than speculate. It was impossible to gather any evidence, even if this had been a regular case. Physical evidence especially.

Suddenly, Near said something unexpected. "… You wouldn't happen to know… something I don't… would you…?" it was a phrase that, in that situation, could only really sound accusatory. Ella didn't react – perhaps holding in something she wanted to say. Matt wondered if Mello really cared if Near knew about his relationship with Halle.

Of course, it was entirely possible that Near had known Lidner was the leak in the SPK; but he couldn't deduce anything beyond that. It was possible she was being threatened into leaking information, or something like that. He had no reason to assume that there was any meaning behind their relationship. He was asking Ella simply because she knew Halle better than he did.

Ella answered Near with another question. "Near, did Halle… say anything after she visited the crime scene where Mello died?" Near looked at her sharply, as if trying to work out the meaning behind the words.

"… Nothing… important. Why?" he asked.

"I just… I'm trying to figure out what her relationship with Mello actually _was_." Ella said, provoking a reaction out of everyone in the room, visible or not. It was clear that she knew what Near knew, and she knew that he knew it. She wasn't hiding that fact. What she _was_ hiding, though, was what she had witnessed a little over ten minutes ago.

She had obviously figured out what Near did and didn't know; and that was saying something. Usually Near kept the extent of his knowledge to himself. So, either she knew Near better than anyone else knew him or… Or she was truly her brother's sister.

"What do you mean?" Near asked seriously.

Ella took a while to phrase her answer. "I'm thinking about Stockholm syndrome. You know; captive falls in love with her captor. It's entirely possible…" Near narrowed his eyes.

"_Captor_?" Mello sounded disdainful. As if he wasn't really the murdering, heartless bastard everyone thought he was. It was subject to argument.

"Ella, Halle Lidner is a very strong person, and a very professional FBI agent." Near sounded as if he was defending her.

"But that's just it." Ella countered. "She may have been so determined not to be weak that he might have begun to look different in her eyes. Like a challenger, but not a dangerous one. To her, he wouldn't have been so intimidating."

Near blinked, surprised for once. Under normal circumstances, though.

"Hmmm… I wonder what _Mello_ thinks of all this…?" He phrased it like a question; as if Mello was going to appear before them and give him an answer. Matt could tell he wanted to. Preferably an answer with a lot of swearing in it. Though he probably wasn't angry enough to actually gain a physical form. Yet…

Matt snorted. "It's probably true." He said. Mello rounded on him, seemingly so angry that he was unable to form words. Then resolve settled in his eyes.

"All right, that's _it_!" he growled, turning back to Near. The smaller boy looked as though he could see him, but said nothing as Mello dashed towards him.

He grabbed Near by the collar of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. Matt didn't see what he was doing, until he threw Near forwards, knocking him into Ella. They stumbled, crashing into the wall and leaving them in a very compromising position – Ella seemed to be trapped between Near and the wall.

"That…" Matt muttered. "was _low_. Lower than low."

-----------------------

"Mello–" Near began, then; "Ella, I'm so s–" he broke off when he realised how close our faces were, blushing. I didn't give him time to recover, sliding my arms around his neck and kissing him slowly. His eyes widened.

We both heard the mumbled accusation from Mail, and Near pulled away, talking immediately.

"They both just appeared," he said, speaking faster than usual with embarrassment, "so I guess we can assume that something happened on their side that neither of us could see or h–"

"Near…" I rolled my eyes. "Could you shut up?"

He winced. He leaned towards me, then hesitated. I knew why.

"It's okay, Near." I said. "Mail won't hurt you." I made the words threatening. Mail had better not try anything… Near still looked worried, but continued forward.

Eventually, our lips touched. It was like a child's kiss, but with more meaning. The sweetness in the air was so potent I felt I could reach out and touch it.

-----------------------

_AN: so, um… yeah…_

_I have no idea why, I just thought it'd be cute if _Mello _was the one who made them kiss. Um… lol?_

_Actually, apart from that this chapter was rather boring, and not very well written. Hmmm… Don't worry, though, the next chapters will be better. XD._


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Hi again._

_That last chapter was boring, but over the next two upcoming chapters I have two kissing scenes, a fight scene, an oh-my-god-no! scene and a shootout. Lol. XP. You curious now?_

_I don't own Death Note._

-----------------------

Matt couldn't watch. "Goddammit, Mello!" he yelled. Then he grabbed Mello's arm and stomped out of the room, dragging his 'friend' along with him. As soon as he reached the corridor, he let Mello go and spun round to face him. His expression was practically agonized as he brought his fist back and punched the blond in the face.

Mello staggered backwards a little, then looked up at Matt. "So that's how you want it, huh?" he growled, so quiet it was menacing, then ran at the redhead, throwing him backwards.

Matt crashed to the floor and skidded halfway through the wall, wincing. This was stupid. Neither of them could really feel pain, or be marked in any way. He shrugged out of the wall and aimed a kick at Mello, who blocked it, only to be hit in the face again.

He recovered from his surprise quickly, and put Matt in a headlock. The redhead twisted out of it and sent a spinning kick into Mello's stomach. The blond turned, hair flying, and they grabbed the fronts of each other's jackets, growling at one another.

Their snarls froze on their faces and turned to expressions of discomfort as Halle Lidner walked right through them.

They broke apart, turning to look at her. Matt groaned with something that appeared to be defeat and depression in one. Halle looked into the room silently, then smiled, turning away. She went to lean against the wall of the corridor, and Matt and Mello did so too, standing on either side of her.

Mello hesitated, and then put his arms around her waist, leaning his head on her shoulder.

"Mello." She said.

"It's me." He said in confirmation.

Matt sighed, and walked away from the couple. Halle felt Mello stiffen.

"What…?" she asked. He relaxed.

"Matt just left. I think he's pissed at me." Fairly huge understatement.

-----------------------

Near was still awkward. I could tell he was doing his best to be natural, but it was difficult. When I thought about it, he had most likely never kissed anyone in his life. Not even his mother, probably. I didn't know, but I got the impression he'd been abandoned as a child, or his parents had died when he was young. He had none of the normality parents would bring.

I doubted he had even ever watched _movies_ in which people kiss. No, maybe that was an overstatement, but he didn't seem like the type to watch romances. I searched for something to say to alleviate the tension.

"I love you, Near."

CRAP. What was _that_? I hadn't meant for that to slip out. We both froze, speechless.

"N-Nate River." He spluttered, and it took me a while to figure out he was correcting me. Nate River. That was his name. Ella River? No. No, I wasn't thinking that.

But why not? Why _didn't_ I love him? Why was that so unacceptable? I searched for some reason in his deep black eyes, and found none. He was merely surprised. He blinked slowly.

"I love you, too, Ella." He said.

"What?" again, it just came out. I wanted to shoot myself. No, no I didn't. But still…

He loved me? Was that even possible? Well, he _was_ Near. And he _had_ kissed me. Obviously, Near had never kissed somebody – at least with those intentions – before. So it was possible. It did nothing to raise the chances of me believing it.

"I said, I love you." He said, and again I found nothing in his face to indicate that his words were anything but earnest.

This time, when he kissed me, it wasn't awkward.

-----------------------

Matt sat down in a chair and rested his head on the desk in front of him. What was wrong with him? He didn't usually get annoyed by trivial things like this. Well, at least he was alone now.

Or… maybe not…

The moment he thought that, Rester and Gevanni came into the room, yawning. They sat down, turning on the computers. Matt rolled his eyes.

"Jesus Christ, is no-one asleep??" he asked the thin air. 'Apparently not,' said the situation. The two agents instantly started working, and, from what Matt could see on the screens, they were investigating a serial kidnapping case. A few minutes of silence later, Gevanni spoke.

"Rester…" he said absently, "can you keep a secret?"

"What do you mean…?" asked the older agent, curious.

"W-well…" Gevanni didn't look away from the screen, but he seemed suddenly embarrassed. "I know this isn't very professional, but…"

"What?" Rester frowned.

"What?" Matt echoed.

"… I think I'm falling in love with Lidner." Gevanni stated. Matt gagged. What? No… That was impossible. Mello would kill him. And then, once he was dead, he'd kill him again in the afterlife. Or limbo. Or wherever they were.

Matt put his ghostly hand on the agent's shoulder. "Seriously, man." He whispered, hoping the words got through to him, "You do _not_ want to do that." Gevanni only turned to his colleague.

"Did you say something?" he asked.

"No, you?"

"No…"

Matt sighed. Dammit, this was going to be _hell_. For everyone involved.

-----------------------

_A/N:_

_One: What can I say? I wanted a fight scene._

_Two: Yes, I think Near was abandoned at a young age._

_And three: mwahahaha I'm so eeevil! Lulz for love triangles. Or, not really triangles. More like adjoining 60 degree angles. 'Cos Halle isn't in love with Gevanni, or anything. Actually, if you think about it, the phrase 'love triangle' implies that Mello's in love with Gevanni. O.o. No, think about it seriously. What the hell, man? It's like that for other love triangles as well. It really doesn't work out._

_Four: Sorry for any morbidity/sickness you may have found in point three._

_Five: see you next chapter. Lol. ;P_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: sooo… Are we all breathing? Anyone want to kill me for what I just did? Yes and no? Good._

_I don't own death note._

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The next day was the day the agents went in to arrest the suspect for the last case they'd been working on. The one that looked ever-so-slightly like Mello, yes. That suspect. The SPK had gathered information and now knew where he was, what he looked like and that he was armed and dangerous. He was located in a large building just outside Tokyo, so Rester, Gevanni and Halle were going in as a team.

And Mello was going with them.

No, really. Matt had tried to talk him out of it – to persuade him that even if something did happen to Halle that there would hardly be anything he could do about it. Still, he was going with them.

The four of them left early in the morning, while Near, Ella and Matt stayed behind. There was a slight complication when the radios cut out a mile away from the building.

"Huh?" Near said, standing up. Two very unusual things for him to be doing. He tapped a few keys worriedly, before groaning. "He's better prepared than we thought." He said, "Some kind of transmitter is scrambling the signal."

At that moment, the phone rang. Near pulled off his headset and put on another one that he used for the different channel.

"Near?" Commander Rester's voice was distorted, and cut out several times over the following short sentence. It was practically incomprehensible, although Near understood what was going on. This is an approximation of what he heard; "He's scrambling the signal."

"I know." Near said curtly. "Well, you can handle this on your own. If something serious happens, call me."

"Understood." Then Rester hung up. Near sat back in his chair, frowning.

"Looks like we'll just have to sit this one out." He said. Using colloquial terms – never a good sign. He was so stressed he was barely himself.

-----------------------

As soon as the FBI agents, and Mello, arrived at the large building, they split up to search for the suspect. They were all armed, except for Mello who was also invisible. That changed about five minutes later. He was finding it increasingly easy to materialize and felt he could almost control it. It had something to do with Halle, he was sure.

Perhaps, with her in danger, he was on the alert enough to gain a physical form. That could be interpreted as a good thing, or a bad thing.

The building was huge, and the four of them searched for half an hour without finding anything. Or each other, for that matter.

"Damn him…" Mello muttered as he pushed through yet another door. "Where the hell is h–"

BANG.

The impact was terrible. He staggered backwards a few steps, eyes wide open in shock as he realised what had just happened.

He had been shot. Now he knew what he had done to Matt when he'd sent him on that mission. But it was puzzling. It hurt, but it didn't hurt that much.

He looked up, glaring at the man who had pulled the trigger. It was clear from the photograph that this was the man they were looking for. The criminal was standing in the middle of the room, still holding the smoking gun in the air.

BANG.

"God, not again…" Mello only tripped back one step this time – he now knew to brace himself. He looked down at his front, but there was no blood, and barely any sign to show he'd been shot twice.

"Damn you." He snarled at the man, who was wide-eyed.

BANG.

"F***ing persistent, aren't you?" Three bullets gone, three bullets left in the revolver. Assuming he didn't have time to reload. Time that Mello certainly would not be giving him.

"W-what?" The man stuttered. "You're not wearing a bulletproof vest… you can't be. It's impossible!" he was obviously referring to Mello's tightly-fitting leather jacket. The ghost smirked.

"Nothing is impossible…" BANG. BANG.

"HAL!" he called out. "Get in here!" it was becoming annoying.

BANG.

A door at the other end of the room burst open just as the man fired his last bullet into Mello.

"MELLO!" Halle cried out as the ghost fell back again. She was about to hurry to him when Mello glared at her.

"Don't!" he hissed, already getting up. "He's going to get away. Damned idiot shot me… _six_ times." The other man already looked as if he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. He didn't even think to run as Halle dashed towards him and flicked the handcuffs closed on his wrists.

Mello walked over to where the man was lying on the floor, hands secured. He leaned down towards the criminal.

"You can't kill me." He smirked at the other blond man. "I'm already dead." With that, the new convict fainted.

"Mello, are you okay??" Halle hurried to him, as if expecting him to finally crash to the floor and die. Again.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Mello said. "Or did you forget it's impossible to die twice?" Halle sort of fell into him, looking on the verge of tears. Mello hugged her, aware that seeing a loved one get shot probably isn't an experience you'd want to go through, even if you knew they couldn't die.

Eventually, he lifted her chin up with his forefinger so that she was looking into his eyes. "Come on…" he said sympathetically, "it's okay…" he kissed her gently, then let her go. She seemed alright. He cocked his head, looking at her.

"Tell me something." He said curiously. "Does it bother you, kissing a dead man?"

Halle looked at him defiantly. "Only as much as it would bother me to kiss a live man with a burn on his face."

Mello frowned, opening his mouth in a retort, but disappeared before he could say anything. Six bullets fell to the floor. It seemed sort of instinctual, actually, because that was the moment Rester entered the room.

"Looks like you've got this handled." He said, looking down at the criminal seriously. Then he frowned. "God, what did you _do_ to him? He looks horrified." He did indeed. Halle rolled her eyes.

She was speaking to everyone when she said; "Come on, let's get him out of here."

-----------------------

_A/N: so… a bit of HalxMello goodliness there. I don't know, it just seems like the sort of conversation they'd have. And yeah, Mello got shot. Shut up. I _don't_ habitually massacre my favourite characters. This fanfiction is just… different… O.o_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: I don't own death note. _

_Oh, and, Matsu fans, I think he's going to be in this chapter! (You know what? I typed the word 'Matsu' and it didn't come up as a spelling error. O.o… My computer must be as obsessed as I am… Though it does come up with a grammar error every time I type the word 'Near' with a capital in the middle of a sentence. In the end I just turned it off. But you don't care. On with the chapter!)_

-----------------------

Now that that last case had been cleared up, the SPK was able to devote their entire focus to the kidnapping case. So far, they'd gotten nowhere in particular.

I was just sitting there watching – this case was beyond my level. Near, as it happened, was just sitting there as well. Although, he was probably thinking about something very important, rather than speculating – as I was – about what somebody else could be thinking that was very important. I wondered if anyone was thinking about what _I_ was thinking about, but stopped quickly when Near spoke.

"Gevanni, get me the Japanese task force." He said. Gevanni did so without asking questions, and we were greeted with an image of the same room as last time. This time, though, there were six people there. Near narrowed his eyes.

"I take it your newest addition to the team is trustworthy…?" he asked. So that man _hadn't_ been there before. The man that Near had told me was named Aizawa nodded.

"Yamamoto has passed through several tests, and has been deemed trustworthy, yes." He said. Near proceeded.

"I believe this case is not what it seems." He said. "It's a lot more difficult than we gave it credit for, and I think we need to meet face to face to exchange information." Everyone looked surprised, but Aizawa responded after a few seconds.

"That would be the reasonable course of action." He said. "Where should we meet?"

Near considered, and then spoke. "The SPK should move to the task force headquarters. I'll see that the security is upgraded accordingly."

Aizawa looked annoyed at the security system of the National Police Agency being questioned, but didn't say anything other than, "Okay." Then he cut the connection. I turned to look at Near.

"I'll be coming, too?" I asked.

He nodded. "We trust them. The fact that I continue to show them my face is proof enough of that." I frowned. He was still speaking formally, although now in English rather than Japanese.

-----------------------

"Okay, Matsuda, it will be your job to go and meet them." Aizawa gave his instructions without looking up from the screen of the computer. With Light Yagami dead, he'd taken over as the unofficial head of the task force.

"What?" Matsuda whined. "But I promised Sayu I'd…" he trailed off, knowing it was useless. Sayu was going to be mad at him; this would be the third time in a row he'd failed to turn up for their… date would be the wrong word – there was hardly anything romantic about their relationship. Hah. He wished. The chances were getting more and more remote with each apologetic phone call.

He wished he could be supportive. Since her father, and then her brother, had fallen victim to the Kira case she'd withdrawn into her shell in a way that might be irreversible. He cleared his head of those thoughts as he shrugged into his coat, grabbing his car keys and cell phone on the way out of the building.

He dialled her number as he drove, hoping she wouldn't pick up. It seemed easier to leave a message – not that she would yell at him or anything. Maybe that would be healthier. As it was, she only accepted his apology and hung up most of the time. But the guilt was still there.

"Hello?" she answered on the fourth ring.

"Sayu? It's T–Matsuda." He still wasn't sure if he should make her call him by his first name, or if that was hoping too much. "I'm afraid I can't make it today." He could almost _see_ her face fall as he listened to the silence on the other end of the line, cringing.

"It's okay." She said, finally. There was practically no emotion in her voice. "I understand." He could tell she was about to hang up. He searched frantically for something to say.

"Sayu, wait!" he said desperately.

"Yes?"

"You could come over to the task force headquarters later…?" he said, knowing as he said it that he was damning himself. Still, better to save face with her, even if it got him fired.

"What?" she asked, this time a little bit of hurt leaked into her voice with the surprise.

"Please, Sayu?" he asked. He gave her the address, squirming inwardly at Aizawa's reaction that he could predict almost word for word.

"… Okay…" Sayu said, seemingly grateful. Then she hung up. Oh well, at least it had worked.

-----------------------

The task force had arranged for someone to come pick us up from a chosen location. Hopefully, we would lose anybody who happened to be following us when we swapped cars. All five of us were coming, and probably the ghosts, too. I wasn't sure what they'd do, but they'd be there.

The task force was already familiar with me, although Near had been vague in his explanation to them. They probably wouldn't like it if they knew I was the sister of the accomplice in the Kiyomi Takada kidnapping. I shuddered at what their reactions would be if they knew that.

When the dark car pulled up, I recognised the driver. It was Matsuda, the one who had laughed at Near the other day. He didn't question my presence – in truth he seemed a little distracted. Worried. I sat beside Near, who was sitting in his usual position with a little difficulty. It was actually rather funny, and I wondered if he'd ever be able to drive a car. Had the previous L been like that, too?

Matsuda drove rather slowly, as if reluctant to get back to headquarters. Nobody spoke, so it was a rather awkward car ride. When we finally arrived at our destination we went through such a long series of security checks that I wondered why on earth Near would want to improve the system, and finally entered the room I'd seen so many times on a computer screen. The five men in the room acknowledged Near, though they didn't seem to like him that much. The new man – Yamamoto – seemed a little nervous to meet 'L', and a little freaked out that he was so young.

Near ignored him completely.

-----------------------

Mello ignored Near completely, looking around the room and smirking. Most of the people here had been there when they'd raided his mafia hideout. He smiled wider when he realised that he probably scared the wits out of them. Luckily, though, they thought he was dead. Well, they were right, but still…

-----------------------

Matt ignored his surroundings completely, not knowing any of the people. He stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and sulked. Well, actually, you could use that word, but when any genius sulks they're more than likely thinking about things way beyond your level.

Matt was thinking about what he'd found out the other day. He still hadn't told Mello – using preserving Gevanni's life as an incentive. He wondered if he should do something, or just wait to see what happened.

-----------------------

_A/N: okay, so… did I get Matsu's character right? I think he's an awesome character, so I'm not sure if I did him justice. I would be worried about the same for Matt and Mello, but I'm so used to their characters that I find it easy now. They're all so awesome!_

_Okay, little bout of fangirlism over; what do _you _want to happen in the next chapters. Any suggestions? I have an idea of what's going on, but is there anything extra anyone wants me to write? Any characters you want me to include more? Like Ide? No, bad example, but still… And don't anyone say yaoi, please. Lol. Review to tell me!_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: I only ever have nightmares when I'm sick, and I fall asleep during the day. Even when I am sick, I generally don't fall asleep in the daytime, so the nightmare I had ten minutes ago was my first one in years. When this sort of thing happens, I feel the need to unload it on at least one of my characters. And I don't own the Death Note characters… Hence… Ella is probably going to suffer. DX. Sorry, people…_

_No way in hell I own death note._

-----------------------

_It took me a while to realize what was different, but eventually I did, and it puzzled me. I was not him. I was myself. And I wasn't getting shot. Yet. Oh, Mello was there, gun upraised, but I felt like time was standing still. Then it snapped into motion._

"_ELLA!" I heard the voice, and I whipped my head around to see him, to tell him to run, but it was already too late. He was there, in front of me, tackling me._

_He braced himself over me, and there were no footsteps to indicate Mello's approach. Just a minute click as the hammer of the gun slid back. My protector looked into my eyes, opening his mouth._

_BANG._

_He buckled, slamming into me, forcing me lower to the ground. His lips found mine, and I tasted blood. His blood. Then he slumped over me, his face sliding to my shoulder._

"NEAR!" I yelled, my eyes snapping open. I moaned, slumping backwards. I hated my nightmares, even more so now that Near featured in them. Rubbing my eyes to clear them of sleep, and the memories of my nightmare, I sat up.

It seemed rather instinctive, I didn't think before putting on Mail's goggles – I was used to wearing them now. I looked around the room, and almost cried out in surprise.

He was there, leaning against the wall with his hands in his pockets. His expression was dark. "Near, huh?" he scowled.

I blinked, surprised that my nightmares offended him. "Mail, I… It doesn't mean I don't care about you…"

"Right." He snorted humourlessly. "You just care about Near more…"

"Mail, I hate to say this, but…" I winced. "There is nothing more that can happen to you. You're already…"

"Dead." He finished bluntly. "And pissed off."

I frowned. "Why does my… relationship with Near bother you so much, anyway?"

He looked on the verge of snarling. "Do you know the chances of Near actually _having_ a relationship in the first place? Practically nil. And then, it just had to be _you_. After I died, too…" he glared, his eyes piercing behind his goggles. I glared back, hating to admit how similar we must look.

He finally caved, concern winning out over petty grudges. "Do you want to talk about it…?" he asked, referring to my nightmare.

I sighed, proceeding to tell him about being him, getting shot, and my most recent fear. _Near_ getting shot. His expression twitched a bit at the last one, but otherwise didn't react until the end.

"Ella, you met Mello _once_." He said, frowning. "I'm sorry I gave you such an irrational impression of him."

I frowned back. "Nightmares aren't rational." I said. "I know that if not for him, a lot more people would be dead. Including Near. Practically everyone I know now. And then where would I be? Probably completely useless. I don't doubt I would have starved to death." He flinched at that, but I ignored him. "The fact that I only met him once is probably why I have such a flimsy impression to rely on." I fell silent for a few seconds, then; "It isn't your fault."

He smiled half-heartedly. "I know." He said, pushing away from the wall and hugging me, before flickering out of sight. I sighed again, getting up and probably walking through him. I moved into the hallway, yawning. I crashed into something and recoiled. It did, too. I opened my eyes, to see Halle. She'd come out of the room opposite me. We both sighed, turning and walking together wordlessly.

"Do you think anyone else is up yet…?" I asked, trailing off as we stepped into the investigations room.

"Yeah, I think so." She said, after a few seconds. None of the eight people in the room looked up, or in any way acknowledged that we were there. Halle moved, sitting down in the available chair and slipping on a headset. The other people seemed to realize we were there at that point, because a few of them looked up, and then back at their screens.

I bit my lip, looking around the room and feeling useless. Surely I could do _something_ to help. Near was ignoring me, for reasons I could not fathom. I had nothing to say, but I couldn't help it. "Near…?" concern creased my forehead.

He didn't look at me. "Ella?" Cold. Icy.

I frowned. "Near, can I speak to you?" this time, he turned to me, though his expression was still blank. "Alone." I stressed. He got up, following me out of the room, but remained expressionless.

Once in the hallway, out of earshot of the others, I turned to face him. "Near, what is wrong with you?" I asked. He curled a strand of hair around his finger seriously.

"I don't know what you mean, Ella."

"But you _do_." I said, feeling stupid and paranoid. "You're ignoring me… no, that's not the right word… You're… you're treating me… _normally_…" Feeling even more stupid, I stopped speaking. I reached out to him, unsure of what I was trying to do.

He didn't react, only pressing his lips into a thin, hard line. I realised then that he had circles under his eyes. I dropped my arms to my sides.

"Near, when did you last sleep?" I asked. That got a reaction. He looked at me, with a sort of concern that almost seemed harsh.

"Honestly?" he looked away. "I haven't slept since you tried to kill yourself."

There was an awkward silence that lasted only a few seconds, before…

"You _bastard_." The voice was barely a whisper. "How the _hell_ could you let that happen?" we both turned to see Mail standing next to the wall, shock and concern visible on his face.

"I-I don't know…" Near sounded choked. "I wasn't supportive enough. I'm sorry…" he suddenly put his face in his hands, and I heard a muffled sob. My eyes widened. "I-I… I let you both down…" he stuttered, and I bit my lip.

"Ella…" Mail said, at the same time as I spoke.

"Near…" we both moved at the same time; him to hug me, me to hug Near. I was closer to my target, so he stopped when I embraced Near, letting his arms fall.

"Ella," he said, "promise me you won't do that again." I looked at him, and his face was nothing but serious. "Promise me."

I nodded. "I promise. I-it was stupid." I jumped as Near put his arms around me, leaning his head on my shoulder. Mail rolled his eyes, then disappeared. I paid no attention to the fact that he was probably still there, nuzzling my face into the side of Near's neck. He sighed, holding me tighter.

"I'm sorry…" he repeated. He pulled away from my shoulder, and kissed me.

-----------------------

"It's taking Near a while…" Gevanni spoke nervously. Anyone could hear the implications in his voice – it was clear that he didn't trust Ella. He wouldn't have trusted her brother. Aizawa looked at him.

"He's in the hallway." He said, tapping a few keys. "We have cameras, I should be able to…" he trailed off as the footage came up on his screen, grimacing. There was a very, _very_ awkward moment. You could have heard a pin drop before Lidner coughed, breaking the silence.

She was the only one who had been aware of Near and Ella's relationship. It would have been better to keep it that way. Aizawa turned to the group. "This… changes things…" he said.

Halle frowned. "Why is that?" she asked. Aizawa looked at her.

"We've gotten nowhere so far, the last thing we need is somebody unprofessional on our team."

Halle scowled. "You are accusing L of being unprofessional!" she growled; naturally hiding the fact that he was accusing her of being unprofessional too, albeit inadvertently.

"Halle Lidner." Aizawa scowled back at her. "I need somebody who can find my daughter, Goddammit!" his voice rose in volume, and he thumped his fist on the desk, causing Matsuda and Yamamoto to jump in surprise. The rest of them held their ground.

"You're being a hypocrite!" Lidner got to her feet in unison with him, her voice as loud as his. "What the hell do you call that, if not unprofessionalism?!"

"What would _you_ do in my position?!" Aizawa yelled in her face. "I didn't see anyone yelling at Soichiro Yagami when _his_ daughter was kidnapped!"

Pain flickered on and off in Halle's mind. Sayu Yagami – an apt comparison. She had been kidnapped by Mello. _Her_ Mello. He'd done that. Her expression hardened. "In your position, I would be using every detective I could – unprofessional or not." Her voice was now quiet. "And I wouldn't be wasting time accusing others of trivial things like unprofessionalism. L _can_ solve this case, Aizawa, and he will."

"But at what cost?" Aizawa asked, his eyes narrowing. Pain was evident on his features.

-----------------------

_A/N: Quite a long filler chapter… Actually, I needed to get this chapter up because I have to tell all of you that I won't be updating for at least a week. T_T… I'm going on holiday with my family, and I won't have internet connection. *wails*. It's okay, I'll bring a notebook. Lol…_

_Romance/angst scene for those of you who think NearxElla is cute. :D. Oh, and Matsu hasn't sprung his little confession yet… That should be interesting… mwahaha… XP_

_Gah. I stayed home sick today, because I have a cold. I was reading Eclipse again, but then I got too pissed at Jacob to continue (those of you who have read it should know why, and for those who haven't I don't want to give spoilers.) I was writing, but… Damned writer's block. And I can't find my sketch pad… T_T…_

_But, on a lighter note… uh… Nothing, really. Sorry for being so negative…_

_Crapping hell, that was a long Author's note… (By my standards…)_


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: another chapter, another author's note…_

……………………………………………………………………

_I do not own death note. (surprise, surprise!)_

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"I love you." Near repeated. "And I'm sorry. For everything."

"It's fine." I said, resting my head on his shoulder. "It was my fault, there was nothing you could have done..." I decided to change the subject. "Have you discovered anything new on the kidnapping case?"

He sighed. "No… Nothing… This guy covers his tracks way too well."

"Could it be a gang?" I asked.

"No. It's far too organised to be the work of more than one or two people…" I couldn't believe it. We were talking about a case. Well, I _had_ asked, but still… Near sighed again, and pulled away from me, after placing a light kiss on my forehead. I was reluctant to let go of him, and he laughed humourlessly as I involuntarily grabbed at his sleeves. He took my face in his hands for a few seconds, looking into my eyes, then let his arms drop.

"Near…" I wanted to kiss him again, but didn't have the nerve to. He smiled at me weakly, and his weariness became even more pronounced.

"Ella… I…" he didn't finish his sentence, he just trailed off, and collapsed to the floor.

"NEAR!" I yelled. This was becoming a tradition. I hurried to his side, lifting his head gently. He wasn't conscious.

"Crap." I heard Gevanni's voice as he entered the hallway, and wondered how he'd appeared at exactly the right moment. My suspicion was clouded by concern, but strengthened when Halle and Rester followed after him.

"H-he just collapsed!" I explained, worried out of my mind. Halle checked him over.

"He's breathing normally. It looks like he just… passed out…" she looked puzzled.

"He, uh… he said he hasn't been sleeping." I said, biting my lip. She looked at me.

"For how long?"

"I… I don't know…" I lied.

Halle frowned. "In that case, I suppose he just got overwhelmed with exhaustion." She relaxed. "Well… he _is_ L… I can only guess at that sort of responsibility. And he's only eighteen…"

I looked down at him as Halle checked his head over and proclaimed he was fine. He looked so sweet while he was sleeping. So peaceful. I froze when he grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him in his sleep.

"Uh…" I bit my lip as he put his arms around me, and I looked up at the FBI agents nervously. He placed his cheek against mine; his breath was cool against my face. I pulled away, and he frowned, curling his hands into fists as he grabbed at the air. It was actually pretty cute. "Let's… uh…" I didn't finish my sentence, letting Gevanni and Rester carry Near away. I stood next to Halle.

"This keeps happening, huh?" I said, trying to relieve the tension. She laughed.

"Yeah…" I got the feeling there was something she wasn't telling me…

-----------------------

"Aizawa, I have to tell you something…" Matsuda gulped a little as he said this, looking down at his knees.

"Yes, Matsuda?" he sounded impatient. Not a good sign.

"I… well… I missed my, uh, meeting with Sayu, so I…" the words came out in a rush, "I told her to come here. She's probably on her way now." Aizawa froze, turning slowly to look at his co-worker, and Matsuda flinched away from his gaze.

"You gave her the address for the task force headquarters." It was not a question, and it was too quiet. Almost dangerous. Certainly dangerous for Matsuda's career.

"Y-yes…" he stuttered, answering despite the lack of a question. Mainly to break the awkward silence as several pairs of eyes turned to him.

To Matsuda's surprise, Aizawa sighed, leaning his head on his hand. "Dammit, Matsuda… As if we don't have enough to worry about…" he was right. They had all witnessed Near's little fainting spell, and seen the SPK dash out of the room together. The stress seemed to have gotten to Aizawa, to the point that he didn't really care anymore.

Taking the opportunity, Matsuda left, stuttering apologies. He went out to the front of the building, just as Sayu got off the bus at the bus stop on the opposite side of the road. She didn't see him as she crossed the road, and almost crashed into him on the other side.

"Sayu." He said, smiling.

"Touta-kun!" she exclaimed, grabbing him and pulling him into a hug. Matsuda blinked. She'd called him by his first name. His heart skipped a beat as he looked into her large, brown eyes, then he hugged her back.

-----------------------

I went to the front of the building just as Matsuda came back in, leading a girl who looked about my age. He saw me, and pointed me out to the girl.

"Sayu, this is Ella." He said, as she held out her hand to me. "Ella; Sayu Yagami." I froze in the act of shaking her hand. Yagami. Kira. I looked at Matsuda, confusion in my eyes. He shook his head, as if reassuring me she wasn't a mass murderer. I managed to smile.

"Nice to meet you, Sayu." She nodded shyly, smiling. Halle entered the room, as Matsuda and Sayu went to sit on the couches down the other end of the lobby. They spoke quietly, and I didn't bother listening. It was difficult, when I had to translate everything in my head to English. Instead, I turned to Halle.

"Light Yagami's sister?" I asked. She nodded.

"She still has no idea that he was Kira. She was only told he was killed during the Kira case." That put my mind at ease a little.

I frowned, though. "She seems shy. Is it because of her brother…?" I guessed I could sympathise with her. She'd lost her brother, as I had.

"Partly, I suppose…" Halle said. Then she continued, seeming reluctant. "Also, she was… kidnapped."

I blinked. "Kidnapped? By who?"

She didn't answer straight away. When she did, she looked down at her feet. "Mello. When he was in the mafia." My mouth fell open. She was in love with a kidnapper… a murderer…

"W-why…?" I stumbled over the word.

"For ransom. It was an exchange – Sayu for the notebook." I'd heard of the notebook of death. The 'Death Note'. Why would Mello want the death note…? I didn't, however, pose this question. I had enough to think about at that moment.

-----------------------

_A/N: I'm back! Yay! so… SayuxMatsu… and… yeah. So, I just made Ella's opinion of Mello even worse, which was… yeah… Nothing much to say…_

_Oh, and… I'm not really sure if Sayu should have addressed Matsu with 'kun'. Is he too old? I have no idea… It just sounded right. Touta-kun sounds better than Touta-san, right?_


	15. Chapter 15

_Two chapters in one day. Aren't you lucky… to be spammed in this manner… D8_

_Owning Death Note is way past my level of awesomeness._

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Halle entered her room, closing the door behind her. It had been a long day, and they had still discovered nothing. She sighed, shrugging out of her jacket, turning back to the room. And came face to face with Mello. He grinned at her startled reaction, instantly putting his arms around her.

"Hi." She greeted him sarcastically.

"Hey…" he replied, leaning his forehead against hers and closing his eyes. She rolled her own eyes, sliding her arms around his neck. They embraced for a few seconds, before she pulled away, walking into the middle of the room. He turned, catching her around the waist.

She looked over her shoulder at him, raising her eyebrows. He leaned forward, kissing her cheek and pulling her closer to him.

"Well, look who's being romantic…" Halle mumbled, trying not to blush. Mello rested his chin on her shoulder, frowning.

"Are you mad at me?" he asked out of the blue.

She lost her tenuous control, and her cheeks turned red. "… No… Why would you think that…?"

He tightened his hold on her, and she stiffened. His eyebrows pulled together. "Proof enough?" he asked, bitterly returning her earlier sarcasm.

She sighed. "Yes, I am, a bit…" she conceded. He let her go, turning her to face him and looking into her eyes. His hands rested on her shoulders.

"Might I ask why?" he was trying to sound off-handed. His eyes, however, portrayed real concern.

She looked down. "I-I…" she began. "I know it's stupid of me, but…" she finally met his gaze. "Did you really have to go to the extreme of kidnapping Sayu Yagami?"

Mello paled, opening his mouth. As if realizing he had nothing to say, though, he shut it again. He put his arms back to his sides, and tried to speak. "I-it was crucial to the investigation." He said. "Everyone has to make sacrifices…." He paused, smirking. "…I should know..."

Halle raised her arm and slapped him in the face. He wasn't expecting it, and staggered backwards, his hand automatically moving to his cheek. She turned away, but not before he saw the tears glistening in her eyes.

"You sound exactly like Kira…" she whispered. When she turned back to him, a few minutes later, he was no longer visible.

-----------------------

Near awoke after sleeping through the whole day, feeling disorientated but not as tired as he had been before. He got up, knowing he would be unable to sleep again, and realized from a glance out the window that it was night time.

He pushed open the door of the room he was staying in, wandering through the corridors. He was about to admit to himself that walking around like this was pointless, and that he should go back to sleep, when he heard a strangled yell.

His head whipped around, and he ran in the direction the noise had come from. "Ella?" he asked, pushing open the door just as she screamed again.

"Ella!" he exclaimed, rushing to her side. She was writhing around in her sleep, obviously having a nightmare. Near frowned, pushing her hair away from her forehead and stroking her face in an attempt to calm her. She didn't seem to feel him, crying out again.

"NEAR!" she yelled, and he thought she'd woken up. He quickly realized, however, that her nightmare must be… about him…

Against all his better judgement, he lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her. Ella quieted instantly, snuggling into his chest. He shifted uncomfortably, but didn't make any attempt to push her away. At least she would sleep well.

Near was, of course, completely oblivious to the invisible redheaded ghost making strangling motions in the air across the room.

-----------------------

This kidnapper was not like others of his kind. For instance, most kidnappers choose their victims with some sort of order; women and children being prime targets. This one did not do that – he simply took anybody he could. Just for the hell of it.

There was, of course, the problem of where to keep his victims, but for somebody of his mental instability, such improbabilities as finding a large, vacant house just at random were not uncommon. Maybe it was just chance, or maybe it wasn't. Either way, it would not be important to any investigation.

He now had over twenty people in his 'possession'. Of which Yumi Aizawa was the most connected to any police agency, and so the one with the most hope of escape. She could not talk to the other captives, as she was bound and gagged and, in any case, hysterical with panic. However, some small part of her that maintained common sense told her that there was hope. Her father would find her. She would see her parents again. Soon.

What she didn't know, however, was how close she would get to L, the world's greatest detective, in only a day's time.

Under circumstances which were far, far away from being pleasant.

-----------------------

Sometime, in the middle of the night, my dreams inexplicably stopped. I wasn't sure why, at first, but in any case I woke up feeling as though I had actually slept. I didn't open my eyes, rolling over and hoping to fall asleep again.

Something impeded my movement, and my eyes flickered open to see what it was. I stiffened, shrinking backwards. I was lying in someone's arms.

I was about to cry out, before I recognised the white that surrounded me. "N-Near…?"

He froze, too, creating a field of tension around us. A few seconds later, he pulled away, rising in one swift movement. I sat up, confusion running through my mind. Near left without a word or a backwards glance, leaving me to stare after him.

-----------------------

Near stumbled outside, onto the seventh-story balcony. Rain fell heavily, drenching his clothes and plastering his hair flat to his forehead. He looked up, squeezing his dark eyes shut as water both fell into them and trickled out. He put one hand on either side of his head – as if trying to drown out the noise of his thoughts – and grimaced into the sky.

After he spent two minutes just counting the seconds, he wiped his sleeve across his face, achieving no more than somehow getting them both wetter. Then he turned, hearing footsteps.

His sight was instantly obscured by black material, and a hand was clamped over his mouth. _Oh, for God's sake…_ he thought, knowing it was pointless to struggle as his kidnapper knocked him out and carried him back down the fire escape.

-----------------------

_A/N: so… yeah… It's okay;_

_Halle and Mello will make up._

_They'll find Near_

_Matsuda will _definitely_ be in the next chapter. XD._


	16. Chapter 16

_A/N: Hi. I don't own Death Note. And half of this chapter is basically crack._

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I wished I had followed him. If I had followed him; made _some_ sort of attempt to do something – not that I'd known anything of the sort would need to be done – I would not be crying right now. Yes. I was crying. I struggled to prevent every choked sob from leaving my chest, but to no avail. I hated it, with all my heart. Even if I had not done anything, I should be doing something _now_. But I wasn't.

The sheer coincidence of it was staggering. Near _never_ went outside. Even if he'd had to, in a normal circumstances – not to say that the circumstances of Near leaving the building were in any way approaching normal – he would have had someone with him. And the _one_ time when he'd been outside and alone, he'd been kidnapped. It was ridiculous.

He was L. The greatest detective in the world. He could not have just been kidnapped by accident – by the very type of people he apprehended every day. But, evidently, he had. The abductor had made no attempt to contact us with ransom demands – which they would have if they had somehow known who he was, or even if they hadn't – and that ruled out a regular kidnapper. This person, if we assumed they didn't know Near was L, just kidnapped people for no reason. He left no traces, and there had been another 'coincidence' that one of the cameras that would have alerted us to the kidnapping had been shorted out in the rain.

This person fit the criteria of our latest case perfectly. Almost definitely the same person.

The SPK were all still frantically searching for clues, despite the fact that the kidnapping had occurred over three hours ago. The task force – aside from Matsuda, who had gone out with Sayu – were doing the same. And all I could do was stand here and cry.

-----------------------

"This is _not_ happening…" Aizawa growled. "This is completely ridiculous…" he, and the rest of the task force, were focused on trying to find the man they'd been trying to find for the past week. Only now they had more incentive. L's life was in danger – and so the world was in danger. Aizawa was hunched over a computer, typing at lightning speed. As he'd been doing for the past three hours.

"Damn it!" he scowled, his voice louder. "I need coffee. Matsuda, coffee!" it took him another half-hour to figure out that nobody had moved, or sighed in frustration, when he'd issued the command. He looked up. "Where the hell is Matsuda?" he asked the task force.

"I think he went out with Sayu." Ide shrugged.

Aizawa frowned. "Oh… uh… Ide, can you get the coffee?" he asked. Ide sighed, getting out of his chair and walking to the coffee-making area.

The tall, serious-looking man paused, frowning. "How do you work the machine?" he asked.

"I don't know…" Aizawa admitted. "Mogi, can you…?" the well-built man across the room shook his head wordlessly. Aizawa tried again. "Yamamoto?"

Yamamoto shrugged. "I don't know how to turn on the lights." It was not an exaggeration, if only because he was not familiar enough with the building to locate all the light switches.

Aizawa blinked, comprehension dawning on him. "Oh, my God…" he murmured. "Where the hell are we going to get coffee?" nobody answered, but an alarmed pall seemed to linger on everyone's features. "Goddammit!" Aizawa yelled. "The moment we get rid of Matsuda, we start _needing_ him!"

The SPK would have been able to make coffee – they were all in the FBI, after all – but none of them were in the room; they were still looking for physical evidence.

Aizawa turned to Ide, his expression hardening. "Ide," he said, "get hold of Matsuda if it costs you your own life. God knows we're all dead without him."

Ide nodded seriously, grabbing the phone.

-----------------------

"How are you and your mom doing?" Matsuda felt like it was a stupid question to ask during something which was – let's face it – a date, but he was genuinely concerned about the two remaining Yagamis.

"We're okay…" Sayu said. "How are your colleagues?" they were waiting for the food to arrive, and sitting awkwardly across the table from each other. It was all very formal, and Matsuda wished the waiters hadn't put a candle in the middle of the table. Maybe Sayu didn't notice it, but he did.

Matsuda sighed. "I doubt they even know I'm gone…" he said. At that moment, his cell phone rang. He cursed under his breath, turning it off without answering. "Sorry, Sayu…" he said. The painfully awkward – to Matsuda at least – small talk continued until a waiter came up, coughing slightly to get Matsuda's attention.

"There is a phone call waiting for you." He said, addressing the young detective.

Matsuda frowned. "Tell them I can't take the call at the moment. Thank you." The waiter nodded and left.

It was while they were eating that the door opened, letting in the sound of the unrelenting rain from outside, and Ide dashed in, panting.

"Matsuda!" he yelled, getting the attention of just about everyone in the place.

Matsuda flinched. "What do you want, Ide?" he asked. His co-worker, drenched with rainwater, sighed and walked over to them so he didn't have to shout. It was a wasted effort, all eyes followed him.

Ide wore a pained expression. "We need you, Matsuda." He said. "Urgently."

Matsuda's eyebrows shot upwards, and he blinked in surprise. "Really? Why?" a small flicker of hope made it's way through him. Was he really being valued for once in his life…?

Ide looked down and mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What was that?" Matsuda asked. Ide looked at him again.

"None of us know how to make coffee." He said, his words pleading. "We need you." He repeated. Matsuda's heart sank.

When he spoke, his words were hollow. "Did you try pressing the 'on' button on the machine…?" he asked, speaking slowly and clearly as if to a child.

Ide's eyes widened. "There's an 'on' button…?" he whispered. Matsuda groaned, oddly not relishing the fact that he was the only smart one in the task force at that moment. To be fair, they were all coffee-deprived and therefore brainless, but still…

"Ide…" he sighed, putting his head in his hands. He didn't want to meet Sayu's eyes, but he had to. After a few seconds, he braved a glance upwards. He heard a small snigger, and then a laugh. It took him too long to figure out it was _her_. She covered her mouth with her hand, but it did nothing to stop the tears of hilarity that came streaming down her face. Matsuda looked up into the heavens. "Oh, God…" he murmured despairingly.

-----------------------

_A/N: Et Voila: we have Matsuda. Being needed, of all things. Lmao. :D_

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	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: Again, I in no way possible own Death Note. If you're wondering about the impossible ways, think; parallel universe. Or maybe perpendicular universe. You know. All squiggly. U.U…_

_By the way, did you know if you press 'enter' while holding down 'ctrl', it puts in a page break (skips a page) weird, huh? Lol. I'm easily amused by keyboard shortcuts._

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Sight alone was not enough. Near could not determine where he was, and could not question the other captives because of the duct tape on his mouth and the rope around his hands, which were secured behind his back.

He had already noted – with a bitter, ironic internal laugh – that there were no cameras in the room, that the other twenty-one captives were restrained in the same way as him, and that the only way out of the room was an understated door to his left. Ironically, he recognised the girl sitting beside him. He had to use this to his advantage. He edged towards her, and she noticed his approach with a look of fear in her wide, brown eyes. A look that everyone there carried. Near ignored it, squirming so that they were back to back and reaching towards her with his tied hands.

She jumped at his touch, and he frowned, trying to unpick the knot in the rope around her hands. It only took a minute to loosen the knot, and then untie it, even with her making it difficult by trying to turn and see him. She only realized what he was doing when her hands were free – bringing them around to her front and gazing at them with a worrying surprise. She'd been imprisoned for a long time. Near tried to cough pointedly, but the tape over his mouth turned it into a strangled gurgle. The girl turned to him, tearing the tape away from first her mouth, then his.

"Yumi Aizawa." He said, biting his lip against the sting. She blinked.

"How do you know my–"

He cut her off. "Would you mind untying my hands?" he asked. She mumbled an apology and began an attempt to untie him. The other captives were watching them as Near began to explain. "Yumi Aizawa, your father is in the NPA. I've been working with him on this very case."

She frowned, still trying to undo the considerably tight knot in the rope around his wrists. "How'd you… W-who _are_ you?"

He smiled coldly. "Let's just say I'm a detective with resources." He paused, then continued. "Did you see anything when you were captured? A face, or…?" she shook her head and, although he couldn't see the movement, he took her silence as a no.

Then she spoke. "Are we free? After we untie the others?"

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Near said. "While I may not know who the kidnapper is, I know his way of doing things. Strange 'coincidences' work in his favour. He leaves no traces, only false leads. He doesn't choose his victims based on any obvious pattern. It's quite possible that we're dealing with somebody who is mentally unstable." He paused. "That being said, he's almost too careful. I doubt he'd have left us behind an unlocked door. And if he has, it's probably trapped with something. He'll know if we try to escape. There are no cameras in this room, and if there were wires – although it seems stupid to put wires in a room full of gagged people – somebody would already be in here."

Yumi Aizawa finally finished unpicking the knot in the rope, and she and Near got up, untying the other captives. Even after they'd finished, nobody moved for a while, until one man spoke up. "So, what do you propose we do…?" he addressed Near, who it seemed had been labelled the unofficial leader of the varied group of people. "Wait for someone to come and rescue us…?"

Although the man's words were sarcastic, Near was dead serious. "Actually," he said, "that's exactly what I propose we do…"

-----------------------

Halle collapsed on her bed, tears leaking from her eyes. How much more could happen before she fell apart? The night before, she'd had a fight with Mello and hadn't seen him since. That morning, the leader of the SPK had been kidnapped. The case had, ironically, reached the level that only Near could solve. And now he was gone.

Another irony; the only other person she could think of who could solve the case was Mello. Halle sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She let herself cry, knowing it was all she could do at that point. Ella was in a worse state than Halle was, though. She hadn't stopped crying all day, unable to talk to anyone. Halle wondered why Matt hadn't turned up to give Ella a hug. It probably would have helped. She wondered where the ghosts were now.

-----------------------

Mello seemed depressed, Matt reflected. The redhead was sitting in the chair next to his best friend, who was oddly silent. Not that Matt wasn't stressed, too – he hated seeing what Near's kidnapping was doing to his sister. She'd gotten to the point where she'd lost everything. That had, ironically, happened before. Matt didn't know what to do, so he stopped thinking about it, turning to the blond beside him.

"You okay, Mello?" he asked. He wasn't really expecting an answer – Mello was like that sometimes – but his friend surprised him.

"Not really…" Mello sighed, leaning his elbows on the desk in front of him. "I had a fight with Hal… About twenty-four hours ago…"

Ah. That explained it. "What about?" Matt asked, annoyed. It seemed overly petty of Mello to have left it that long without talking to her – at least his problems were solvable.

"About how I kidnapped Kira's sister; ages ago." Mello said.

Matt frowned. "Why now? And, in case you didn't notice, you killed a lot more people than you kidnapped." He didn't know why, but his friend was beginning to test his patience.

Mello flinched. "Supportive, Matt, real supportive…" he muttered. Then; "Maybe it's the kidnapping case they're trying to solve at the moment…?"

"Oh, yeah, I can see that." Matt said bitterly, finally snapping. "I can see her looking at all these kidnappings and thinking 'who the hell would do something like that?'" he laughed humourlessly, "And then she realizes; 'oh, yeah, my _boyfriend_ would.'" Mello scowled, reaching over and backhanding Matt across the face. The redhead blinked as the other ghost looked back down at the desk.

"I thought you were supposed to be comforting me…" Mello growled.

Matt bit his lip, confused at his own outburst. Then he sighed. "Sorry, man…" he said tiredly. "I guess… well, you know… what with Near, and Ella, and this whole being dead thing… I'm just pissed off at everybody…" He grimaced.

They were both silent for a few minutes, before Matt sighed again. "Do you want me to talk to Hal for you?" he asked. Mello looked at him.

"I… well…" Matt could tell his friend didn't want to say yes, so he just took the two words for a confirmation and stood, smiling wearily. Mello smiled in the same way. "Yeah, thanks…" he said. Then; "What makes you think she'll listen to you? She never listens to me."

Matt smiled in earnest. "We both have to put up with your crap. That should provide us with some sort of mutual feeling. 'Resentment', I think it's called." He left the room before Mello could come up with a retort.

It took him quite a bit of effort, but he materialized in front of Halle's door. He didn't understand why, but Mello seemed to find it a lot easier than he did to gain a physical form. Matt knocked on the door cautiously.

-----------------------

Halle raised her head. "Come in." she said, unable to disguise the tears in her voice. He came in, closing the door behind him. Halle frowned. "Matt…?" she asked.

"Hi." He said, raising one hand and then letting it fall to his side. "Are you crying…?"

She looked at him darkly. "What does it look like?" then something clicked. "Did Mello send you?"

Matt snorted. "Of course not. I sent myself."

"Sent yourself…?"

He ignored that, looking at her and cocking his head to one side. "Do you want a hug…?" he asked, somewhat nervously. She smiled weakly.

"Yes. But only if you're okay with it."

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_A/N: No space for the rest of that chapter. But hey, stuff for next chapter, right? Halle is going to forgive Mello, don't worry. I love the couple too much to have them break up (not that I was entertaining the idea – it only came to me now.)_

_Oh, my God, my main character wasn't in that chapter at all. O.O… lol…_


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Ok, so, two chapters in one day! I decided to post it, cause I've already written up to chapter twenty-two. Actually… I think these chapter posts are within half an hour of each other (at least)._

_I don't own Death Note, the characters in Death Note, any concepts affiliated with Death Note, or pocky._

_All of the above are cool, but I don't own them. XD_

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Matt hugged Halle comfortingly, patting her on the back. "It's okay." He said, grinning. "Whatever he said or did, he's an idiot and we both have to get used to that." That warranted a smile.

"I know that, I guess… And I'm not sure why I got upset about it in the first place… but… Well, I don't know. I was beginning to wonder if he actually _was_ a bastard…" she pulled away, and Matt sat down next to her.

"I really want to say he's not, but…" Matt joked. Halle shoved him playfully, still smiling.

"I think I'm ready to forgive him now." She said. "Or at least yell at him. Either way, I want to see him…"

Matt stood. "You sure?" he asked. She nodded. Matt turned back to her, frowning. "What is it about him…?" he asked. "Why do you put up with his bullshit? I mean, I've known him for years and, in any case, he got me killed and now I have no-one else to talk to, so… I kind of have to, but… you?" he wasn't really being serious, but Halle could tell that he honestly wanted to know.

She took a few seconds to come up with an answer. "I guess it's because he's so… dangerous." She said. "Fun. It's… It's like he's from a different world. Somewhere better." Matt resisted the urge to raise his eyebrows and nodded, flickering out of the realm of visibility.

Halle leant back on her pillow, waiting. When the door opened, however, it was not the person she was expecting. She stood up, moving towards the door.

"Gevanni, what are you doing here?" she frowned.

"Halle." He said from the doorway.

"What do you want, Gevanni?" she asked, not sounding impatient. More sympathetic. He stepped closer to her, and a bad feeling came over her. She wasn't quite sure how to describe it; but it definitely wasn't good.

"I wanted to tell you…" he said, leaning towards her. "I'm in love with you, Halle."

Dead silence.

"Gevanni…" he was getting closer to her, and she could see what was going to happen.

"No…" she warned. "No, Gevanni, d–!"

He did.

He closed any distance left between them and kissed her, cutting off her words.

Their lips barely touched for a second, however, before he was thrown off his feet and smashed into the wall.

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_A/N: (in-chapter comment) three guesses who. Haha… You knew it would happen…_

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"Y-you're dead!" Gevanni stuttered, unnecessarily.

"And you're an ASSHOLE!" Mello yelled at him, before punching him in the face again. He was about to inflict more bodily harm upon the FBI agent before Lidner came to her senses and forced them away from each other, a hand on each of their chests.

"Break it up!" she yelled at them a second too late, gaze whipping back and forth between the two. A few seconds, and then Gevanni spoke in a shuddering voice.

"He's… he's dead…" he whispered. "Why is he back…?"

"Harsh incentive." Mello snarled, making another attempt to maul the poor, unsuspecting agent.

"Mello…" Halle cautioned, before turning to the other man. "Gevanni…" she began.

"Stephan." He corrected.

"Stephan." She said, her voice soft, and a low growl came from somewhere deep in Mello's chest as she addressed the black-haired man with his first name. "I'm sorry. I don't love you. I love Mello." The blond ghost slumped suddenly, and if not for her hand holding him there he would have fallen to the floor.

"You do?" he asked.

"Yes. Didn't I say that before?" Halle replied.

"Not in so many words, no."

"Oh. Okay. I love you. And I forgive you."

"Good. I love you too."

"Yes. Good."

"Yes." He paused. "Now, can I rip his head off?" he sounded almost hopeful, and she pushed him further back, her glare darkening.

"Forget everything I just said." She glowered. Throughout all this, Gevanni had been wearing an expression of… well… heartbreak, essentially.

"Halle…" he said. "How long can this last…?" she turned to him, mouth slightly open in surprise at his bluntness. Then she scowled at him. She was not a woman you would want to be in love with when she scowled at you quite like that. Gevanni, who was not as strong as Mello, almost squirmed in discomfort.

After a few seconds, she sighed, dropping her gaze to the floor. "To be honest, I've been asking myself the same question." Mello's eyes widened, but he let her continue. "I don't even know how long he'll be here. He only gains a physical form every so often – I don't even know if he's there most of the time." She looked up at the ceiling. "And to think this would have been so much simpler if you hadn't gotten yourself killed…"

If it was possible for a ghost to grow paler, it happened then. The look on his face echoed Gevanni's. Heartbreak. Pain.

"Hal…" he whispered, reaching out to her. She looked at him, and he froze under her unyielding gaze. He closed his eyes and let his arms drop back to his sides. "I'm sorry… I really am. For everything." His eyelids flicked up, and he looked at her with such pity in his eyes she couldn't help but smile weakly. She dropped her arms.

Halle then did something completely unexpected. She went to Mello and hugged him; but she took Gevanni's hand and dragged him along with her, embracing them both at the same time. The two men eyed each other carefully, before giving in and hugging her back. Mello's head leaned on her left shoulder, Gevanni's on her right.

"Egh…" Matt whispered, invisible. "That didn't exactly go as planned…"

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_A/N: Long chapter. But hopefully funny. XP… Yet _another_ chapter without Ella in it… *gulp*…_


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: no way in hell/heaven/mu I own death note_

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I leaned against the railing that ran along the edge of the balcony, clutching the rail so hard my knuckles went white. It was dark, so dark. Cold, too, but I didn't care.

"… Near…" I whispered through my clenched teeth, looking down at my hands. "Where are you…?"

I heard a smooth swishing sound as somebody came out through the sliding doors, but I didn't look around. Then a 'clang' as said person crashed into the railing next to me, breathing hard. I looked up, and blinked.

"Gevanni?" I said quizzically, but I wasn't surprised enough for it to cancel out the bitterness in every word I said. He looked terrible; white as a sheet. Like he'd seen a g…

I froze mid-thought. It was entirely possible that he'd seen a ghost. He looked at me, but didn't seem to see me, his wide eyes looking at something past me.

"H-Halle… M…" he stuttered, not seeming to have a better explanation, just spluttering incoherently.

"Gevanni!" I said sharply. He didn't respond, so I slapped him in the face. That seemed to sober him up a little. "Snap out of it. What happened?"

He squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath before looking at me again. He gulped, then tried to explain. "I-I saw Mello…" he said, and I noticed for the first time that he was squinting. Squinting because of a gigantic bruise that twisted his expression. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. I didn't think I'd done that just by slapping him. Mello… My blood froze in my veins.

"Why did he beat you up, Gevanni?" I asked, wide-eyed.

Gevanni winced. "H-he… he's in love with Halle… She was the leak… S-she killed… _got _everyone killed…" he broke off, putting his face in his hands.

Something occurred to me, and it made me want to laugh bitterly. Aside from Near and Rester, Mello had known the names and faces of the entire SPK. He'd kept Halle alive because she was the leak… But Gevanni… Gevanni he'd kept alive for the purpose of keeping someone alive. And now he wanted to kill him. For…

I really did laugh. "Congratulations, Gevanni." I said. "You've managed to fall in love with the least available person in the world." I smirked, realizing a second too late that it scared the hell out of him. Mello smirked; a lot. I pressed my lips into a thin line instead. Dead serious. "Mello is going to kill you, you know."

"I-I know…" he said, then shook his head. "What the hell does Halle see in him?"

I ignored the question. "Uh, Gevanni? I think you should start calling her Lidner. Just to be on the safe side."

He looked at me, his eyes widening. "H-how did you know he was back…?" he'd only just realized that I wasn't surprised at the news.

I blinked, then decided I may as well be honest with him. "My brother is, too. Ghosts. They only seem to gain a physical form when they feel a strong emotion – although that seems to be changing. They're around more than they were. But they… they _are_ dead… It's not as if he just didn't die – he actually _is_ back. My brother was shot thirteen times." I wouldn't usually have been able to say that, but I was emotionless tonight. Like Near had been. That thought made me want to break the mask, but I realized in a sort of lack-of-horror that it wasn't a mask. I must have been in shock. I couldn't feel anything.

I clutched the rail in front of me harder, and it stung as it cut into me, but I couldn't really feel the pain. Blood dropped down seven stories, into the street below.

"Ella." The voice seemed to come from far away. "It's okay. We'll find Near."

I choked. On what, I didn't know. I wasn't crying. I just choked. It wasn't a sob, it was just something dry and painful. I felt like I was retching, but I didn't feel sick. I saw rather than felt my red hair blow out in front of my face in the wind; it looked like a bloodstain across the black sky. Only illuminated by the backlighting that came from inside.

"Ella, are you okay?" even more distant than before, and not concerned enough. He didn't know what was happening.

Then another voice, more urgent. "Ella!" I whipped around, expecting… hoping… My hope died in the second it took for my sight to focus through what I realized were tears. It wasn't Near. Of course it wasn't. It was Mail. "Ella, you're bleeding!" he yelled, grabbing me by the shoulders.

"I know." I said quietly as Gevanni staggered backwards, away from the ghost.

"Ella, what is it?" Mail looked into my eyes; creating a perfect reflection. Even the same goggles. "What's happening?"

"Nothing's happening." I said, but even I had trouble hearing my whisper. That being said, I wasn't trying. I felt like… like a corpse… My eyes were wide, and I couldn't move. I couldn't feel anything.

From somewhere that wasn't quite consciousness, I watched myself raise my nerveless fist and punch my brother in the face.

-----------------------

Matt staggered, letting go of Ella's shoulders and crashing to the ground. He automatically moved his hand to his mouth, and his eyes widened when he saw blood on his fingertips. He'd been harmed. Him. A ghost. It hurt like hell.

More than that, though; his sister had punched him. "Ella!" he yelled, springing to his feet. "What the hell are you d–" she punched him again, sending him spinning. He only had a second to see her eyes, and they were cold. Dead. He was yanked to his feet by the collar of his jacket and then flung into the wall.

Matt felt one of his ribs break; heard the sickening snap. "Ella!" he cried again, but he had no breath. He got up, ignoring the searing pain in his side, and grabbed Ella's wrists, in an attempt to restrain her. She brought her leg up and kicked him in the chest, knocking what little breath he had out of him. He was forced to let go of her.

He whipped out his gun and held it up, hands trembling. He couldn't believe he was training a gun on his little sister. "You!" he yelled. "Whatever you are! Don't move!"

Ella opened her mouth. Her voice was hers, but tinged with some evil that he didn't recognise. "You can't shoot me." She stated. "You know you can't." her eyes were locked on his, and he stared into the dreadful emptiness. Neither of them turned as Gevanni pulled out his own gun.

"He can't." he said. "I can." Matt jumped at that, snapping his head around to look at the black-haired agent.

His gun was aimed at Ella's leg. Even as Matt thought that, Gevanni moved his finger to the trigger. "NO, YOU BASTARD!!" Matt yelled, tossing his own gun aside and running at the agent, knocking him down; over.

Over the rail. Clanging of metal on metal, yelling of voices, and Matt's hand closed on something, just as something closed on his hand.

He was hanging from a seventh-story balcony railing, with Gevanni hanging from him. And Ella, or something possessing Ella, – he'd seen enough zombie movies to figure that one out – was looking down at him and smiling. Smiling.

"MELLO!" Matt yelled, calling on his only hope. He had to rely on Mello.

The only other thing he could do would be dematerialize and let himself fall. But that would mean killing Gevanni.

He was not, in all honesty, having a good day.

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_A/N: Even more weird, I know. Explanations will come sometime in the fanfiction. I don't want to guarantee them in the next chapter._


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: don't know why, but I'm really into fight scenes. I know. I'm sadistic. Lol._

_I don't own death note… or any zombie movies._

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Gevanni felt doomed. His life was as good as over. He was entrusting it to the best friend of a man who wanted him dead. Gevanni had never been a religious man, but now he prayed. Prayed to God that Matt wasn't just a subordinate; a blank face with no thoughts of his own. But it wasn't something he could expect, in all fairness. Because _he_ was just a subordinate. _He_ was just a blank face.

And his only thought was that he was glad he'd told Halle how he felt about her. Otherwise she would never have known.

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Mello paced the corridor, thinking about Hal's parting words. Parting command, really. "Get out, both of you." She'd said. "And don't kill each other." Mello had to admit it was tempting. He hated nobody more than he hated Gevanni at that moment – not even Near.

He'd only been in the hallway for about three minutes, but he was already itching to go back and apologise to her. Nevertheless, he just paced.

"MELLO!" the voice was desperate, terrified. Mello's head whipped around, facing the direction of the yell. It was Matt's voice.

Instinctively, Mello started running. Out to the balcony, where Matt…

He skidded to a stop at what he saw, just in time to feel the right hook that landed in his face. There was a crunching sound, and Mello grabbed his nose unthinkingly, howling in pain. It was broken. Not badly, but broken nonetheless. He opened his enraged eyes. And his mouth fell open. It was Ella. Then he snarled as he saw the gloved hand holding onto the rail; all that was visible of his best friend.

He pulled out his gun, pointing it at Ella's head.

"I could kill you." He said.

"Matt would kill _you_." She replied, unfazed. Mello blinked. She never used her brother's alias. This definitely was not Ella.

"Newsflash," Mello growled, clicking back the hammer, "I'm already dead." Ella didn't say anything, just glaring at him. A look that had probably never before graced her features.

Mello circled around her, keeping the gun pointed at her head. He hastily glanced down at Matt, and then back at Ella, not wanting to take his eyes off her for too long. What he saw was not good. His friend's face was contorted in pain, and there was somebody else hanging from his arm. Gevanni. Mello saw the man through a haze of red.

The blond made a snap decision, dashing towards Ella and clubbing her on the head with the butt of his gun. She fell instantly, unconscious, and Mello turned back to Matt, holding out his hand.

"Grab my hand." He yelled. The wind was picking up, making his words hard to hear. "I'll pull you up."

"I… Can't…" Matt gasped. Mello noticed for the first time that there was a strange lump in Matt's side. _Broken rib…_ Mello instantly thought. At first he thought it was that that was keeping Matt from grabbing his hand, but then he realized that it was Gevanni, clinging onto the redhead for dear life. Of course, that was what was on the line. Life.

"Let the bastard go!" Mello yelled. "Dematerialize, or whatever the hell we do!"

Matt looked at him with what could only be – even when the redhead's face was twisted in pain – contempt. Of course. Damned bastard could never kill anybody. He would have been useless in the mafia. But then, if he'd been in the mafia he would have died long ago, in the explosion. Since Kira couldn't have known his name. "… No…" the word was barely a whisper, but Mello heard it – maybe because he was expecting it.

"Then hang on!" he called, turning for the building.

-----------------------

Halle folded her arms, then unfolded them. She was too pissed off to do anything useful. Mello, Gevanni… She was pissed off at everyone. The door of her room burst open, and she turned, ready to yell at whoever it was.

Her words caught in her throat, and she gasped. It was Mello. In one hand, he was holding his gun, in the other his nose. It was ever-so-slightly crooked, and blood streamed from it.

"Mello, you idiot!" Halle yelled. "I told you not to fight him!"

Mello snarled. "You think_ he_ could have hurt me? One; I'm a ghost, and two; he's a pathetic bastard. No. It was Ella."

Halle growled. "Don't be ridiculous." She muttered.

"I'm not being ridiculous. And it wasn't Ella. Not really. It was… something else… in her body… Come quickly."

Halle sighed, but followed Mello. He was running, so she ran too, to keep up. She didn't know what to say when they reached the scene. She glanced worriedly at Ella's unconscious form before she dashed to lean over the railing.

"Matt?" she called. "Gevanni?! Who the hell…?" she rounded on Mello.

"Sure, you're a ghost," she said, "but who's to say you couldn't hurt Matt? Or he you?"

Mello shook his head. "No." he growled. "We've fought before. Neither of us got hurt. This is something else."

Halle punched him; a punch that would have sent any normal person flying. He didn't move, or even seem to notice. She sighed. "Okay, I believe you. What do you propose we do?"

"Save Matt." He said, speaking in short, simple sentences. "Screw Gevanni." She ignored him, turning back to the redhead hanging from the rail.

"We get Gevanni up first," Halle said, "then Matt will be able to climb up easily." She looked at Mello. "You have to cooperate with me, or both of them will die." She considered. "Or… whatever will happen to Matt if he falls."

-----------------------

Ten minutes later, the scene was completely different. Mello and Halle had gotten both Matt and Gevanni to safety, and Halle had bandaged Matt's rib, diagnosing that Mello's nose would heal by itself. Much to the redhead's dismay, they had been forced to tie Ella up so that she – or whatever was possessing her – could not hurt anyone.

Matt was only just managing to stand, leaning on the wall. The others were pacing, fretful. Gevanni was keeping his distance from the blond ghost, who suddenly stopped pacing.

Mello looked at Ella – who was now conscious, but not truly _there_ – frowning. "Nobody panic," he said, before flickering out. Nobody did.

But only because they couldn't see or hear what was going on. Only Matt could, but he wasn't quite strong enough to make a fuss out of it. Mello leaped forwards, through Ella, and tackled an entity to the ground. Ella blinked.

Mello snarled as he punched the other ghost, forcing him down. "Don't move!" he yelled, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the apparition's face. They both became visible at the same time, and Halle and Gevanni gasped in unison. Ella struggled to turn. Then her memories hit her.

"Mail!" she whispered, turning back to look at him. "I'm so sorry… I…"

Mello pinned down the other ghost, keeping the gun pointed at his head. "Who the hell are you?" he growled.

The other ghost smirked. "Snydar." He said. "Kal Snydar. Or Jack Neylon; whichever you prefer."

Mello froze. "You…"

"Yes." Said Snydar. "Me. You got me killed, remember?"

"Yeah." Mello snarled. "I remember."

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_A/N: so… one of the guys from the mafia has turned up… Yet another person who isn't too fond of Mello. How many do I have now? _

_Mellophobic (to use Austronothrus Clarki's word) people count: Ella, Sayu, Gevanni, this guy… and, at the moment, Halle isn't very pleased with him either._

_Injury count; Ella's and Gevanni's hearts – metaphorically – Mello's nose – literally – and Matt has a broken rib. Lol XD. I'm evil, I know._


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: finally, I shall have something from Near's POV. Just to extend the cliffhanger. I know. You hate me, don't you?_

_I don't own death note. Not even enough to put capitals on the 'D' and the 'N'._

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"Is anyone missing you back home?" Yumi asked.

Near sighed. They were sitting beside each other, leaning against the steel wall. "I think so." He said.

"Oh. Who?"

"Her name's Ella. She's my…" he faltered. Somehow, he couldn't use the word 'girlfriend'. "I'm in love with her." He admitted.

Yumi frowned. "Wait… How old are you?" she asked.

"Eighteen." He replied.

Yumi did a double take. "Hang on…" she said. "You? You're eighteen? No offense, but you look, like, _twelve_."

Near smiled bitterly. "Yeah. I get that a lot." He said. He was beginning to talk less formally than he usually did, for some reason. Maybe stress.

Yumi recovered. "What's she like?" she asked.

"You mean physically, or personality-wise?" he replied with a question.

"Both."

"Well…" he decided to start with 'physically', "She has red hair, she's a little shorter than me and she wears goggles. She's sweet, but withdrawn. Her brother died during the Kira case, and she doesn't remember her parents too well."

"Oh. I'm sorry." Yumi said. "Is she pretty?" changing the subject slightly.

"_I_ think so…" Near replied, repeating himself.

Yumi frowned. "Somehow… something about that… something about that rings a bell. I just can't remember…" then she blinked in surprise. "Oh… I-I remember something from T.V… about a year ago. You know, when Takada-sama was kidnapped?"

Near froze. "Yes?" he said. The word was hollow.

"It's just… I remember one of the men who died, on T.V… he…" her eyes widened. "_He_ was her brother?"

Near cursed himself inwardly. "Yes."

"B-but he was a kidnapper…" she said. "He was a criminal."

"So it would seem." Near said. "But looks are always deceiving. Without that kidnapping, the Kira case would never have been solved."

Yumi opened her mouth, then shut it again. Then she spoke. "Why?"

"I can't go into detail." Near said. "But he died in the name of justice. I knew him – we were raised in the same orphanage."

Neither of them spoke for a while. "What about you?" Near asked finally. "Do you have anybody missing you?"

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"I don't understand." Halle said. "Who is this man?"

Mello forced Snydar to stand up, leading him over to the others on gun-point. "He was in the mafia." He said. "Kira killed him, when we had the notebook. He had the shinigami eyes."

"That I did, Mihael Keehl." Snydar smirked. "I still do. Do you want me to tell you how long Halle has left? How long before she dies?" Mello punched him again, causing him to stagger sideways. Out of the way of the gun.

Snydar took the opportunity, leaping forwards. Into Halle's body. "No!" Mello yelled, but even as he said that he knew what to do. He grabbed her face in his hands and kissed her harshly, reaching down and using the beads of her crucifix to pull her closer to him.

Snydar vacated her body immediately, and Mello smirked. No guy wanted to be kissed by a guy they hated. Mello pulled away before Halle had time to realize how he'd taken advantage of her. Snydar, desperate, ran for Gevanni. Mello whirled, punching the black-haired man unconscious before the ghost had time to get to him.

"It's just you and me, huh?" Mello said, punching Snydar and hauling him around so that he could point the gun at the other ghost's head again. "What the hell do you want?" he growled.

"Revenge." Snydar stated simply.

"Again, bastard," Mello said, "I'm going to have to announce that I'm already dead."

"But she isn't." Snydar growled, "Halle isn't. Killing her should be enough."

Mello yelled incoherently in anger, shoving the other ghost into the wall. He took aim, and pulled the trigger.

There was devastating BANG, and Ella flinched as Snydar cried out in pain, half collapsing as he clutched at his leg. Mello re-trained the gun, stepping forwards so that the barrel was digging into Snydar's forehead.

Nobody moved. When Rester walked in, he saw complete chaos.

Matt leaning against the wall, Ella tied to a chair, Gevanni unconscious, Halle frozen, her fingers touching her abused lips, and Mello pressing a gun to Snydar's head.

"Holy shit…" he murmured, jerking Halle out of her reverie. Rester never swore. Actually, he barely ever even talked.

"Rester…" she said… "Whatever this looks like; it isn't…"

Matt put his head in his hands and groaned.

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_A/N: XD. I loved writing this chapter. Even though it was kind of short. Luffles. No, I don't like violence, but… Oh, and if you're wondering why the bullet hurt Snydar so much – one; he's not exactly a normal ghost (heh. _Normal _ghost…) and two; Mello's gun is the one he took with him when he died, so naturally it would effect ghosts in the same way a normal gun would effect a living person. Except they don't die. It makes sense. Shut up._

_Another chapter where I want to ask for your ideas. Please review and tell me! XD (yep, just an excuse to get more reviews. Lol.)_


	22. Chapter 22 2 chapters in 1

Chapter 22 (two chapters in one. Because they're both fairly boring.)

_A/N: hello people. Ohba and Obata own Death Note._

_Not me._

_In case you were wondering._

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Matt shook his head. "Normal handcuffs won't work." He said. "Snydar's a ghost, remember? It'd actually be hard for him to stay in them _willingly_. And I think 'willing' is the last adjective we'd use to describe him right now." He was right, on both counts. It was only the gun Mello was still pressing into Snydar's head that kept the vengeful spirit from lunging at Halle.

"Then what do we use?" Halle asked. "We can't exactly just leave him alone unrestrained." She didn't seem jumpy; as you'd expect someone in her situation to be. Not only was her life being threatened by Snydar, but it had taken her a whole fifteen minutes to explain the situation to Rester, who's reaction was an odd mix of surprise, scepticism and contempt. And he didn't know about Halle and Mello's relationship. Yet. He only knew Snydar wanted Halle dead, and he hadn't questioned the reason.

Mello spoke up. "Matt, did you bring any handcuffs with you when you died? I mean, did you have any on you…?"

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Mello, because I just habitually carry around handcuffs in the hope that – should I die and come back as a restless spirit – I would be able to restrain another ghost."

Mello scowled. "Surely there must be something…" he looked down at himself.

Matt noticed something. "Your crucifix." He said, nodding towards the chain.

Mello shut his eyes and then opened them again in a way that was too slow, and implied too much annoyance to be called a blink. "You can't use a crucifix to restrain someone. That would be just… _wrong_…" he didn't bother with any more explanation than that. Then he made his own observation. "Matt, you have a chain on your belt."

Matt looked. "What?" he lifted the looped chain hanging from his belt and then let it drop. "This?"

"Useful fashion statement, huh?" Mello said sarcastically.

Matt rolled his eyes, removing the chain from his belt and handing it to Mello, who used it to haphazardly restrain Snydar. Mello frowned, standing back. "… Now, the big question… Does it just disappear when you do? And even if it doesn't, will it still hold him?"

Matt shrugged. "One way to find out."

Mello scowled. "I don't like taking chances." He said.

Matt laughed out loud. "H-heaven forbid…" he spluttered, "… you should take chances, Mello…" he pointed to the scar on the left side of the blond's face.

Mello glared at him. "If you don't shut up, I'll break another one of your ribs." Matt tried to sober up, but only managed to stop laughing by biting his lip.

"You know that's impossible." The words were ever-so-slightly muffled.

"Yeah?" Mello said defiantly. "Watch me." Matt shut up. Mello had a tendency to do the impossible.

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I watched everything that was going on from next to the wall, unsure of what to do with myself. I couldn't believe what I'd done, even if it hadn't been _me_ doing it. Mail had said it was okay, telling me he was glad I was still alive. But still… He was a ghost, nothing could physically hurt him. Or so I'd thought. But somehow, Snydar had. While he'd been in possession of a living body…

Something came to me then. "Hey." I said, drawing attention to myself. Everyone turned to me. "I've just realized something. If a ghost by itself couldn't hurt another ghost, and a living person couldn't either… Is it possible that a ghost could only be harmed by a combination of the two…?"

Mello cocked his head, looking at me oddly. It was sort of like a suspicious look, but not quite. Mail blinked. "You could be right…" he said. Then he shuddered. "Either way, I'm not willing to have it tested on me." I bit my lip.

Suddenly, Mello turned to Mail and said something in a low voice, so I couldn't hear from across the room.

Mail shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Why?"

Mello spoke again. Mail's eyes widened, and he glanced at me. Then his expression returned to normal. "It's possible." He said. "What I hate is that it makes her more likely to put up with Near." I frowned. What were they talking about? As soon as I thought that, though, they turned back to Snydar.

"Right." Mello said. "We need somebody to guard him, to make sure he doesn't try to escape. And someone with Hal, too."

Mail snorted. "Don't you think you might be going a little over the top?" he said. "He's hardly a threat. He can't even _walk_." It was true. When Mello had shot him, it seemed as though it effected him the same as a normal gun would effect a living person. As in; crippling if you happened to be hit in the leg with a close-range bullet from said gun.

Mello looked at my brother darkly. "… Still…" he said. I could tell he didn't want to bring up anything which could implicate his and Halle's relationship. Rester was probably better off not knowing.

Mail rolled his eyes. "Fine." He said. "I'll stay with Snydar." He didn't have to add anything else. I supposed he was thinking about what would happen if someone came after me. He'd want Mello watching the guy like a hawk. "You stay with Halle."

It could have been my imagination, but it seemed as though – for a split-second – Halle's cheeks actually reddened. Then she nodded. "That's fine…" she said. "Although I can take care of myself…"

Mello glared at nothing in particular. "Not against a ghost." He said. "I doubt you could even touch him."

"Mello, I hate to bring this up," I was surprised I'd even had the courage to address him, "but we really should get Gevanni out of here." I looked down at the black-haired agent. "He's been out cold for… what? Fifteen minutes?" Mello could throw a punch, I'd give him that. Not that it was a good thing.

The blond snorted. He started to say something sarcastic, but he was cut off.

"I can help you." We all jumped at the sudden interjection from Snydar, who was grimacing in pain from his bullet wound.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mello growled.

Snydar, even in pain, managed to smirk. "I know where he is. Where Nate River is."

I was the only one who reacted. Even before the unstoppable gasp left my mouth, I knew it was a mistake. Everyone turned to look at me.

"… Ella…?" Mail asked. Then his expression cleared. "Oh, right. _Near_." He said the name with clear contempt. Snydar's voice came from behind him, as he was still looking at me.

"I'll tell you where he is…" He said.

"If you let me kill Halle."

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_A/N: so… lulz I love cliffhangers. That is; I love _leaving_ cliffhangers. Not so much when other people leave them. XD Though it's not really a cliffhanger, seeing as I'm giving you the next chapter straight away._

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_A/N: Death Note…_

_I don't own it…_

_(did I even need to bother with another disclaimer? :P)_

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Three people said the word; "No" in different tones at the same time. Mello snarled it, turning back to Snydar and grabbing him by the collar. I stuttered it, shaking my head. Mail snorted it, raising an eyebrow. Of course, the idea of anyone getting _near_ Halle was completely ridiculous to him. He knew Mello better than any of us did, after all. Halle and Rester stayed silent.

After a few seconds, Mail spoke up. "It's not exactly a fair trade, is it?" he said. "We could probably find Near by ourselves. I mean; it's trading Mello's happiness – and therefore _my_ happiness – " he looked pointedly at the blond, "for…" he blinked, turning to me. "… Ella's happiness…" he whispered, clarity coming over his features. Then he shook his head. "No. We'll find Near. Between me and Mello, we sh–"

Mello cut him off. "And Ella." He said. I blinked.

"What?" I asked.

"And you." He said. "Between Matt, me and you we should be able to find Near." He finished Matt's sentence, editing it a bit in the process.

"I don't understand." I said. "I mean, I'm not a genius, or anything."

Mello smirked, letting go of Snydar's collar. He looked at me. "That's just it." He said. "I think you are."

My expression twisted into some sort of horrible combination of shock and scepticism. "_What_?"

Mello rolled his eyes. "Let me explain." He said. He sounded a little like Near, I noted. But he spoke less formally and he used more swearing. "Wammy – Watari – visited your orphanage when you were… what? Six? And Matt was about eight, I suppose." I remembered that; the old man who just appeared and took Mail away. I shuddered. "He obviously saw potential in him, God knows why, but not in you. The potential he saw in Matt could have been there simply because he was older. And, of course, Watari didn't come back later to see if you'd changed… I think, to coin a phrase, you simply 'blossomed late'." He frowned. "I can't believe I just said that… Damn it…" He admonished himself.

What he was saying began to dawn on me. "Hang on…" I said. "Y-you think… _I'm_ some sort of genius?"

Mello smirked. "Maybe you can fill in for your brother." Mail rolled his eyes, elbowing Mello.

I realized something then. "What you were saying earlier…?" Mello nodded. "And you said," I gestured towards my brother, "it made me more likely to put up with Near…" I snorted. "Strange. I never really pegged you for the type to hold onto petty grudges."

"You didn't?" Mail blinked. I rolled my eyes.

"Anyway," Mello turned serious, "we'll find the little bastard. Nothing's going to happen to Hal."

Halle looked at him, and it was impossible to read her expression.

I spoke. "In that case," I said, "We should probably start now. Mail…" I was about to tell him to stay and watch Snydar, but Rester seemed to read my mind.

"I can't take any more of this…" he sighed. "I'll stay here, and watch Snydar and Gevanni… Just give me some time to think…" he said. I blinked, but nodded.

The four of us left the room. Despite the fact that it was night time, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep until I did something to help find Near. And anyway, Halle and I were the only ones who actually needed sleep.

"Incidentally," I said, "how long are you two going to be able to stay visible?"

"It's not a problem." Mello said. "It's easy for me now."

Mail sighed. "I can't say the same, but I have to maintain a physical form, or my rib won't heal." I nodded as we entered the monitor room. Thankfully, the task force were all in other parts of the building. Probably sleeping. I didn't want to have to go through another explanation.

I sighed as I sat down, pulling one leg up onto the chair and leaving the other one dangling. I looked up when I felt several pairs of eyes on me.

"What?" I asked. It took me a while to realize how I was sitting, and I frowned. Mail smacked his own forehead with the heel of his hand. I moved so I was sitting with both my legs under me. Near was rubbing off on me, even in his absence.

Speaking of his absence… the others sat down and we began another attempt to solve the case.

We had a runner up, a subordinate to said runner-up, a potential genius who could really go either way and an FBI agent who was – incidentally – the only sane person there.

Seriously; solving this case couldn't be _that_ hard.

-----------------------

Mello frowned. Thinking logically was difficult without chocolate. Less now that he was dead, but still… He followed up leads with one part of his brain while the other focused on thinking about Hal. Having said that, he tried not to think about Snydar, as that would get him nowhere. He wanted to kill him, violently. But that was impossible, seeing as how he was already dead. And ultimately, he didn't really pose any sort of threat to Hal, because Mello was there, but he was a hindrance.

Mello wondered how long it would have taken the original L to solve this case, but stopped quickly. That would also get him nowhere. He looked at Hal, who was sitting beside him. She seemed to be the only thing he _could_ think about. He leaned his elbows on the desk in front of him, resting his chin in his cupped hands, and continued to look at her. Eventually, she looked up, gazing at him questioningly.

Halle raised an eyebrow. Mello blinked, realizing he'd been staring at her. He quickly turned back to his computer screen. Something came to him. "How the hell did Snydar know where Near was…?" he muttered. The others turned to look at him.

"And how the hell didn't you think of that sooner, Mello?" Matt raised an eyebrow. Mello scowled, unwilling to admit he'd had his mind on other things.

"Well, what can we do about it?" he asked. "Besides interrogate Snydar. Or speculate, I guess…"

"Well," Halle said, "he's obviously met, or at least seen the kidnapper. Assuming he isn't bluffing. And it's likely he is."

Mello frowned at her. "You don't seem very concerned." He said. He, on the other hand…

"I trust you, Mello." Halle said. Mello couldn't find anything beyond that in her voice, which was unusual.

Matt snorted behind them. "You'd be the first who hasn't died yet, Hal." He said.

Reassuringly.

-----------------------

_A/N: Ok, so I thought I wasn't going to post up another chapter today, and I end up posting two. Writer's block is like that for me – I can't really do anything to change these two chapters so I'm just going to move on. You know, like, when you're knitting, and you get a hole in the thing (whatever you call it), and…_

_Crap, I'm using knitting analogies. I _really_ need stop now and just post this. Lol._


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: here we are again. And I'm going to have to tell you, yet again – you'd think it would have set in by now – that I don't own Death Note._

-----------------------

"He must have seen him." I said, confusing the people around me. They all turned to look at me, so I elaborated. "Snydar must have seen Near. How else would he have known his real name?"

Mello frowned. "But that doesn't necessarily mean he saw him after he was kidnapped. Or he could just have been listening when Near told _you_. Whenever that was."

I shuddered inwardly at the thought of Snydar being there in that situation. I couldn't help thinking the word 'pervert'. Outwardly, I said, "I guess." I thought for a moment. "Although… The fact that he used his real name rather than his alias means that he didn't hear anyone address him as 'Near'."

Mello nodded. "True… in fact, if I think about it, he could have been the one who actually kidnapped Near."

My eyes widened. "One of the cameras shorted out. We assumed it was an accident… caused by the rain… but…"

"Yes…" Mail pondered. "A ghost could have easily done that… been invisible until he was out of the camera's range – behind it, maybe – and then materialized and shorted it out."

I shook my head slowly. "… but the mere fact that he could use the rain as a cover – the fact that it _was_ raining – was all a coincidence… And, if you think about it; even though the chance of Near going outside was practically nil, it would have been decreased even more if it was raining. So that can't have been a set plan – the person who kidnapped him came up with that plan on the spot."

Mello frowned. "That doesn't sound like Snydar to me…"

"Another ghost?" Mail asked.

"Most likely." Mello replied. Halle rolled her eyes – I could tell she was feeling kind of excluded.

"Halle, what do you think?" I asked.

"Whatever I think, you just worded it perfectly." She said, grinning half-heartedly.

Mail frowned. "If we assume it was another ghost, who could that be? Somebody who would willing work with Snydar – even if they were only using him as a minion – and they obviously want revenge on one of us. Mello, me, or Ella." He smiled wryly in Mello's direction. "Well, I can think of any number of people who'd want revenge on Mello, dead or alive. The Japanese task force, for one."

I did a double take. "Wait… You're saying that… one of the task force kidnapped Near? No. That's impossible."

"I was just speculating." Mail shrugged. "And those are the alive people. Most of Mello's enemies are dead by now." The corner of his mouth twitched.

Mello ignored the comment. "What about you or Ella, Matt? Is there anyone who'd try to hurt either of you?"

Mail looked at him darkly. "Fate?" he said sarcastically. It seemed that there was some truth to that. I'd had nothing but bad luck from the moment I was born.

Mello scowled at Mail until he started thinking. "Well… I'm a hacker – there's probably quite a few people who'd want to harm me. But then, they'd have no idea who I am."

I blinked. "You're a hacker? As in, illegally?"

Mail winced, but replied sarcastically. "No, Ella, hacking high security government computers is completely legal." I resisted the urge to flinch, raising an eyebrow instead.

"And you?" Mello asked me, ignoring Mail's comment.

I thought seriously. "Well, anyone who knew I was connected to Near who also knew who he was. But then, if the kidnapper had known he was L, they'd have contacted us. Maybe we should think of it as two or more ghosts assisting the kidnapper. I doubt he has very much power over them – actually, it's highly likely he's insane."

"Heh. Insanity." Mello said. Laughing at the concept of insanity – pretty much declaring that he was insane himself. "You know who that reminds me of?"

"Who?" Mail asked, uninterested.

"Kira." Mello laughed. "Light Yagami."

I froze. What had we just been talking about? Someone who wanted revenge on one –or all – of us. Someone who was probably dead. Someone with the means and intelligence – despite his failing mind – to plot something that could, and probably would, turn out to be deadly to a large percent of mankind.

"You know what?" I said. "I think I've found our kidnapper."

-----------------------

Mello stopped laughing immediately. "You…" He whispered. Then his expression turned to a smug grin. "I was right."

"You always are, Mello…" Matt said in a tone which clearly stated; 'you always _think_ you are…'

Mello ignored him. "It makes sense. He's obviously not the kidnapper, but it would be safe to assume he's involved somehow."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You can't just recycle your enemies, Mello. We have no reason to just assume he's involved."

Ella spoke up. "And why not? It makes perfect sense to 'recycle' Yagami if we're talking about someone who wants revenge on everyone involved in the conclusion of the Kira case." She looked thoughtful. "I'm surprised that category includes me, actually."

Mello's expression was grave. "Actually, Ella, your relationship with Near just provided a convenient way of hurting Matt, and therefore me, because I'm obliged to help him, and Hal because she's obliged to help _me_."

Matt put his head in his hands. "Goddammit! Why did no-one listen to me when I said them going out was a bad idea?"

Ella frowned. "One – technically we're not going out. Two – we couldn't hear you whenever you said that and three – your reasons were somewhat different… You had no way of anticipating the chain leading to our own personal Armageddon."

Matt looked at her darkly. "Good luck at the pedantry awards, little sister." He said.

Mello sighed. "I never thought the phrase 'sibling rivalry' would apply with you two, but apparently it does. Congratulations, Matt, you just opened the door of a room full of awkward moments." He raised an eyebrow. "Actually, you kind of picked the lock."

"Enough with the accusatory metaphors!" Halle yelled, startling everyone out of the argument.

-----------------------

_A/N: Haha, me and my cheese-filled (an extreme way of saying cheesy) sense of humour._


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: Look me in the eyes and dare to say that I own Death Note. I don't._

-----------------------

"Matt. I've found something."

"What?" Matt looked up from his computer screen.

"A home computer." Mello said.

Matt raised an eyebrow. "That's nice, Mello. What the hell does it have to do with anything?"

"No," Mello explained, "it's just a home computer, but it has a huge amount of security."

Matt's eyebrows pulled together. "How difficult?"

Mello considered. "Me and Near working together probably wouldn't be able to hack it."

Matt snorted. "That isn't saying much. You two couldn't do anything together without you pulling out your gun after about five seconds."

Mello scowled. Matt scooted over on his chair and took a look. He blinked. "You weren't kidding…" he said. It was beyond Mello how he'd been able to tell by just glancing at it.

"Can you hack it?"

"One way to find out." Matt said, pulling his goggles up to the top of his head. He frowned, his fingers pausing over the keyboard. "I need a smoke." He stated.

Mello sighed. "You'll have to do without…" he said.

Matt let out a breath. "Hmm…" he pondered. "I don't have the time to write a program, and I don't know any of his details – I'll have to do it manually. Well, as manually as you can get without actually being there." He put his fingers to the keys and got to work. Mello got out of his way, but watched over his shoulder. The seemingly endless streams of zeros and ones didn't mean much to him.

Ella joined him, watching the screen. "Can he read binary?" she asked quietly, as if she didn't want to disturb him. Mello nodded wordlessly. Ella sighed, near silently. It was obvious she thought her brother was on a different level to her. Mello nudged her reassuringly with his elbow, communicating to her that he barely knew more about this than she did.

After a time, Halle came over as well. Having such an audience would have been distracting in a normal situation. Matt, however, seemed to be lost in his own world. He didn't react when Halle spoke to Mello. "Who is it?" she asked.

Mello frowned. "The computer belongs to Sachiko Yagami, but she wasn't much of a technical genius. Most likely she doesn't use it very much – but I can imagine Light Yagami would be able to create files she couldn't delete, or open. She wouldn't question that. I thought maybe he was taking advantage of his family's naivety, yet again. Seems like I was right. He wouldn't use his own computer – that would be the easy option for any investigation who knew about ghosts. But hers – he figured that was safe. Nobody would even think of his family while investigating a kidnapping case."

Halle nodded, tilting her head to one side as if that would help her understand the numbers running vertically down the screen.

Everyone was silent for a while, which is why Mello, Ella and Halle all jumped when Matt spoke. "Shoot…" he said.

Mello's eyes widened. "What, Matt? Did he figure out you're hacking him?"

"No…" Matt muttered. "I thought I'd got through it, but that was just the first level of security. Seems like it's gonna get a lot harder from here."

-----------------------

Matt stared at the screen, seeing words instead of numbers. But not just words. A face. He'd only seen the face once or twice on files Mello had uncovered about the true Kira, but he remembered it. The sharp features conflicted with a sort of professional non-expression. There was nothing in his eyes – this man was so used to hiding his true feelings that he forgot to project any emotion at all. The hair was a little like Matt's, but tidy and well-kept. Despite this, he seemed ragged and wild to anyone who knew who he was. Perhaps he only seemed that way _because_ they knew who he was.

Kira. The second L. Light Yagami. It was him against Matt; a nameless, faceless subordinate. Kira challenged Matt, scornful. This scruffy redhead could present no challenge to him that L had not. To the innocent observer, L had not seemed to present enough challenge to stay alive.

Matt growled inwardly, detesting the smug smile he – and he alone – saw on this face. The man who had killed his idol smiled at him mockingly through these words. These numbers.

Matt pushed harder – spurred on by the vengeful emotion he suddenly felt for his idol. He would not let this corrupted, egocentric mass murderer beat him. He would not.

He reached further, his heart sprinting as he typed, gritting his teeth. Kira responded. The smile was gone – he no longer hid what he was, and his face morphed into something that was entirely Matt's imagination. Kira recognised him as a rival, and he hated him. Hated him. Matt matched the hatred with his own, pushing himself closer to the edge. He could fly or fall. He could win or lose. He would not lose. He would not fall.

The pressure built higher and higher as Matt continued, the noise provided by his imagination turning into a high keening, almost impossible to bear.

And then it broke.

"Yes…" Matt's eyebrows pulled down as he grinned, and the face vanished. The noise stopped. The screen cleared.

And then it set in. He'd done it. "YES!" he repeated, yelling the word and punching the air with both fists. Everyone around him flinched backwards, and it was only then that he – and they – realized they'd been leaning towards the screen. Not that they'd understood any of what had been going on.

Matt flopped back, seeming to deflate. "Okay, I _really_ need a smoke now." He breathed, triumph leaving him unable to stop grinning.

Nobody spoke; they all seemed to feel his elation. Then Mello smiled wryly. "I take it you succeeded?" He said.

"You have no idea…" Matt said, closing his eyes. "I really, _really_ hope that this is more than a home computer. Otherwise, we're screwed. Well and truly. Screwed."

-----------------------

_A/N: so, Matty gets to shine a bit. Lol. He's going to be quite smug now, even if nobody recognises his efforts. Well… I think Gevanni is a hacker, too, but I'm not sure. Maybe he'll appreciate the difficulty of hacking into Light's mother's 'home computer'. :D_


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: lol. For no reason._

_I don't own Death Note…_

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I shook my head, wondering. My brother was a genius. And it wasn't just a home computer. I watched Mello's eyes widen as he skimmed through the seemingly endless kanji on the screen. I couldn't read it that fast – I had to wait and see what it said; hoping somebody would tell me.

My brother wasn't reading either, just sitting back in the chair looking smug. From the way he was grinning, I took it that he'd just hacked something incredibly difficult. Maybe he saw it as winning against Yagami… after all, it had been his security Mail had hacked.

Mello stood back, finishing. Halle did, too. Of course, she was fluent. She'd been Kiyomi Takada's bodyguard after all…

"So, what is it?" Mail asked, his expression finally turning serious.

"Files." Mello said. "Of all the people kidnapped so far."

Mail's eyes widened and he sat up straight. "No shit?" he said, astounded. "It seems too easy…"

"Well, I'd have to check if they matched up to be certain, but I'm pretty sure." Mello smirked. "I guess he wasn't expecting anyone to be able to get past his security."

I sighed. "Did it say anything about the location…?" I didn't want them to know just how desperate I was, but some of it broke through in that one sentence.

Mello looked at me grimly. "Yes. There was a location."

Halle suddenly turned professional. "Right." She said. "We can move out in… maybe two days. We need to make sure Gevanni isn't concussed, and we probably need to tell the task force about you two." She gestured towards the ghosts.

Mello frowned. "Something strikes me as odd about this… Maybe he's planning an ambush at that location. Maybe he expected us to find it. He certainly seems to be one for re-using old tricks…"

Halle and I looked at him darkly. "Either way, we have no choice." Halle said.

I spoke at the same time. "We have to find Near."

Mello rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine, we'll go. But we have to be careful. We need as many people as possible. And what about Matt? He's still injured."

We all looked at my brother. He looked back. "I feel fine." He said.

Halle frowned. "Maybe ghosts heal faster than ordinary people…" she speculated. "That certainly wouldn't be the oddest thing about you."

Suddenly, Mello darted forwards, swinging his fist into Mail's face.

Mail caught the punch, surprised but still fast, and used it as leverage to throw Mello across the room. He leapt forwards, ready for another attack.

Surprisingly, Mello smiled, getting up. "I think he'll be fine." He said.

Mail eased out of his fighting stance. "Nice way of testing me." He said bitterly.

Mello shrugged. "It was a soft punch." He said. "Wouldn'tve hurt you." Mail rolled his eyes.

-----------------------

"Y-you…" Matsuda gasped. He was the only one capable of speech – albeit garbled speech. "H-he…" In another second, the five of them pulled out their guns.

Training them on Mello. The blond sighed. "God…" He said. "What did I do?"

Aizawa snarled. "You killed the deputy director!" he yelled.

Mello looked at them darkly. "Look," he said, "_I_ didn't kill him. And anyhow, it was in self-defence…" His eyes widened at the pissed-off expressions the entire task force wore. "Aw, shit…" he said.

If anyone said anything else, it was cut off by the hail of gunfire. To be fair, only a few bullets actually hit him, but he still staggered backwards with the impact.

After about ten seconds, the guns were empty. Mello groaned, slumped against the wall that was now riddled with holes. He flickered away and then back, allowing the bullets to fall.

Halle's hand covered her mouth, and her face was as white as a sheet. She trembled so hard that Matt tensed himself, ready to catch her if she fainted.

Gevanni spoke first. "That was a waste of bullets." He muttered. Then he spoke up. "Look. I know you hate him – so do I. But it looks as if we're going to have to work with him. After all, he solved the case. And he's willing to help us."

"Screw you, Gevanni." Mello raised his clenched fist, middle finger upraised. "Screw you."

The task force had been briefed on the situation, and everyone was in the room. Rester had brought in a still-restrained Snydar and Gevanni had regained consciousness. Ella, Matt and Halle stood along the side wall, looking at Mello. The blond was, to say the least, winded. Nevertheless, he stood shakily, his hand fisting around his crucifix.

Aizawa lowered his empty gun, his expression crumpling. He looked like he was about to cry. "Sorry, Mello." He said. "I guess I had no right to…"

"Shoot me?" Mello supplied. "Thanks. Glad you thought of that so soon." He spat the words. Aizawa looked sheepish.

"I'm sorry…" he repeated. "Can you help me find my daughter…?" his voice was almost pleading.

Mello sighed. "Well, Matt hacked Yagami's computer, and there was evidence he's involved in the kidnapping, and an address. We should go there first, but there's also a good chance he's planning an ambush."

Aizawa frowned as the others also lowered their guns. "When you say 'Matt'…?"

Mello pointed at the redhead. "You're going to have to trust him as well. Do you remember him? My accomplice."

Aizawa glanced at Matt. Then he stared. "… he… uh… Ella…?"

Mello sighed again. "Yes. He's Ella's brother. And he already got shot, so you don't have to put him through that again…"

-----------------------

_A/N: sorry! Arg! Don't throw stuff! I don't know, it just wrote itself!_


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: I don't own death note._

_Oh, look. It's a disclaimer. ^^._

_:D_

-----------------------

Finally, Mello had a gun. A real one – not the one he'd brought with him. Well, if for some reason he needed to dematerialize, he'd be leaving it behind, but still. He could finally defend himself against ghosts and living people without using his fists. He'd been visible for over 24 hours.

He was ready. He had to be.

-----------------------

Matt was struggling to maintain a physical form. He flickered out every two seconds – he was worried he was giving the people around him headaches. Eventually he just stopped trying and disappeared.

He had to trust Mello.

-----------------------

Aizawa, and the rest of the task force, were sceptical about working with Mello – especially since he now had a gun – but they had no choice. It was all or nothing.

They had to succeed.

-----------------------

I was determined to go with them. It took about five minutes of persuasion, but I eventually convinced them to let me come.

I had to find Near.

-----------------------

Halle clutched her crucifix, only just recovering from what had happened to Mello. She was too shaky to speak to anybody.

This had to end soon.

-----------------------

The helmet felt odd on my head, but I was more worried about the bulletproof vest. Of course, I knew there was a chance I could get shot, but…

I didn't have a gun – I didn't know how to use one – so I could really only search and protect myself. The others would go in before me and then contact me through my headset when they were sure there were no attackers. I was in the van with Aizawa, Matsuda, Mogi, Ide, Yamamoto, Halle and Gevanni. Rester was acting as a technician in Near's absence, and Mello and Mail were in the car ahead of us.

There was a crackling in my ear, and then I heard Rester's voice. "Is the connection okay?" he asked. He sounded uncertain. Probably feeling Near's shadow. Despite his height, he cast a long one.

"Yes, it's fine." Aizawa said. We went back to driving in silence.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that it jolted me harshly when we stopped, and I snapped back into consciousness. Ide had parked us across the road from the huge building – we were in a nondescript food van, something that my brother had inexplicably laughed at – albeit ironically – when the idea had been suggested to him. I had no idea why, and when I'd asked him he'd only said; 'everybody makes mistakes'. I couldn't fathom the reason any more than I could have before he'd spoken.

Aizawa looked at me pointedly before leaving the van, and I nodded. I was fine. The rest of them vacated, and seemed to disappear instantly. Now all I could do was wait and listen. And of course watch; if someone happened to blow up the building, I'd definitely be able to see that, even from inside the van.

A reassuring thought.

"Okay, we're in." Aizawa again, but through my headset this time.

"Good." Rester.

Silence. I shifted uncomfortably from my squat in the back of the van. My microphone was off, and would remain off until I turned it on. Snorting at my blatantly obvious thoughts did no good when nobody could hear me and question the sound. I felt more alone than usual. Especially because there was a chance Near was in that building.

I wanted something to do with my hands.

It was about five minutes later, I heard another disembodied voice. "Okay." Aizawa, of course. "Ella, you can move in now."

I reached up to my face to turn on the mic next to my mouth. "Okay." I was already across the street, trying not to draw attention to myself. Difficult, when you considered I was wearing a helmet and a bullet-proof vest. Luckily there was nobody around, and the task force had checked around for cameras.

I entered the large building through I side door, moving faster than usual in the hope I'd get to Near somehow, sometime soon.

I needed to find him. Otherwise I couldn't go on.

-----------------------

A few minutes earlier, Matt had forced himself into reality and put on a headset, not particularly worried about protecting himself. Now he felt stronger – more like he was actually _there_. He and Mello had split up, and he was walking the corridors alone when he heard Aizawa.

"Okay. Ella, you can move in now." He must have decided that, had there been anyone dangerous here in a large group, they would have found them by now. Matt frowned. But they'd obviously not found the captives yet… Something was suspicious about this.

"Okay." His sister sounded a little shaky.

Minutes passed, and Matt continued searching the building, gun upraised as he entered each room, despite Aizawa's confirmation that it was safe.

Suddenly, a panicked voice broke radio silence. "No!" Rester yelled. "Abort mission! We've been–" he was cut off suddenly.

"Rester!" Matt heard Halle's sharp outburst. His eyes widened. What had happened? Something Rester had seen on the footage from one of the cameras attached to somebody's helmet? He'd stopped talking suddenly – someone had incapacitated him.

The blood drained from Matt's face. "Snydar!" he cried. "It's Snydar! And another ghost, somehow another ghost…" he trailed off.

If another ghost had appeared, it would have been in the form of possessing someone… Controlling them… Who would anyone want to control…?

Matt choked. Aizawa. Aizawa had just confirmed it was safe for Ella to enter the building, and everyone had just trusted him…

"ELLA!" Matt yelled. "Where are you?!"

"Mail, I'm fine." Ella said. Matt searched her voice for an evil tint, but there was none. "I haven't come across anyone."

Matt wasn't satisfied. "How did our parents die?" he asked. Only Ella would know.

"In a car crash." Ella replied.

Matt let out a breath he realized only then that he'd been holding in. Right. So Ella was fine. But Aizawa…

If someone had possessed him, they would have no need for him after they'd given the word through his mouth. After that, he would just be a liability.

There was a good chance one of their team was already dead.

-----------------------

_A/N: no, I'm not going to kill off Aizawa! That would just be plain _mean_. After his daughter got kidnapped, too._


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N: okay, so, to make up for the day-late update, I'm giving you two chapters at once :D_

_I don't own Death Note._

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I cursed myself inwardly for shaking in fear. The area was not safe. In fact, it was probably the exact opposite. Aizawa…

BANG.

I cried out, diving to the floor as the gunshot missed me by inches.

"Aw, shit…" I heard Mello's voice twice – it echoed a second later through my headset.

Silence, and then; "_Mello, what the hell have you done??_" Mail shouted.

"God, sorry!" Mello said. "It's okay, I missed…"

Mail called Mello several unrepeatable things before I intervened. "I'm okay!" I said. "Just surprised…"

Mail calmed down. "Mello, I thought you'd know better than to shoot blindly whenever you see a moving entity!"

Mello cringed, offering me his hand and helping me up. "Sorry…" he said again, whether to me or to my brother I wasn't sure.

"Mail," I said, "I know this is no time for speculating, but whoever it is that possessed Aizawa wants _me_ dead, and me specifically."

Mail responded angrily, even before I'd finished talking. "Damn right this is no time for… _shit!_"

The last word was nearly drowned out by the sound of gunfire.

"MAIL!" I yelled, clutching at my microphone, at the same time as Mello whirled to face the door of the room we were in.

"Ella, this is no time for worrying about people who are already dead!" the blond hissed at me. "We're in deep shit!"

My throat constricted. "Y-you're already dead…" I pointed out.

"All right." Mello allowed, growling the words. "So _you're_ in deep shit."

-----------------------

Matsuda listened to everything that was going on with panic lacing itself around him. At any moment, he felt it would constrict and strangle him. He edged around yet another door, feeling as though he should be running, but unsure of where to run _to_. Logically speaking, he should run to the aid of his team members. But, also logically speaking, he'd have to know where they were first.

And he didn't. Once again he was useless. Unless…

_No._ he cut of that hopeful thought. _You see any coffee machines around here, Touta?_

He opened yet another door, and suddenly didn't feel like being sarcastic.

Having a club smashed into your face can do that to a person.

-----------------------

Halle's head was full of sound. Swearing, gunfire, hissed panicky conversations, and somewhere in the middle of it all she heard a muffled squeak and a smashing sound. Almost like someone's face connecting with a hard object. She shook her head, dismissing that thought. Stupid…

"… Matsuda, are you okay…?" her mouth formulated the question when her mind didn't.

"AARGH! NO!" Matsuda's voice. Even if it hadn't been an answer to her question, she could take it as one either way. She flipped the safety off on her gun – no time for precautions now. The plan was falling apart around them.

It would be tempting fate to say that at least the _building_ wasn't.

A beam from the ceiling hit Halle, and her last thought was; _hey! I was right!_

Optimism wasn't always the right option…

-----------------------

Matt didn't shoot. As long as he didn't shoot, he'd be fine. That was logical.

Yes, crazy as it may sound, _that_ was logical. Showing you just how the situation was. His logic was that the mafia-man firing at him had to have in finite number of ammunition, seeing as the gun was obviously not from the living world.

Matt gulped as the other man reloaded, giving the redhead a break from dodging crazily – not that dodging always worked; he'd already been hit three times – One million was a finite number, right?

And actually, Matt had no proof that the gun wasn't from the living world. Well, he could gain proof. He disappeared, making himself no less visible to the other man, but feeling his headset fall through him. And the three bullets fall out of him.

So it was a gun from the living world, and could not plausibly harm him.

But that one… The one the other man was now drawing… That one could.

Matt materialized, grabbing his headset from the floor before his enemy had time to fire again and knowing that this time it would actually hurt. Badly.

And then he ran. Like a coward.

_Well, _he thought, _I'd rather be a coward than die…_

_Again…_

-----------------------

Near stood so fast he felt that he hadn't even moved, all his senses alert.

"… Gunfire…" he murmured, eyes wide. He was not surprised enough not to theorise. "That means they're here, but it also means they're under attack…" Then the most important thing dawned on him. "Is Ella with them…?"

His eyes swept the group of people as panic broke out over his features. "Is Ella with them?!" he yelled, startling everyone.

He dashed to the door – who the hell cared if it was trapped?

"Hey, you said –"

"I know what I said!" Near yelled, yanking the door open. A shrill alarm went off throughout the whole building. "AND IT'S REASSURING TO KNOW THAT I WAS RIGHT!!" he shouted the words to the heavens like a mad man, throwing his fist into the wall.

Ella could not die.

-----------------------

_A/N: Near being angsty. XD._


	28. Chapter 28

_A/N: I don't own Death Note_

-----------------------

Mello lowered himself instinctively into a fighting stance, glancing at the two armed men who'd just come into the room. It just plain sucked that he recognised them both. They'd both been in the Mafia.

Dammit, Kira was copying him! Using the Goddamn Mafia… And not even as Kira; not even using that title. True, Kira was only using them because they wanted revenge on Mello, but… The blond wanted to groan, but there were rather pressing matters at hand. He still had his gun in his left hand, which was good. He was ambidextrous – at least, he could point a gun with both hands – but he was much stronger with his left. It also happened to be the arm with the scar on it, so he looked more impressive holding a gun with his left hand.

One of the men was holding a hand gun, the other a heavy-duty machine gun. Neither of which was particularly good. "Ella…" he whispered as the two advanced. "When I give the word, run. Okay? Run…"

"All right…" she breathed, so low he wouldn't have heard her if not for the headset he was wearing.

Faster than lightning, Mello whipped his arm up, pulled the trigger four times and, not bothering to see if any of the bullets found their mark, turned and ran. He yelled as he went. "RUN!"

Ella didn't have to be told twice, only glancing back once to see the two ghosts fall to the ground; one grabbing at his shoulder and the other at his chest.

-----------------------

Near dashed away from the other captives, not sticking around to give explanations. He had no idea where he was running, he just ran. Turning where he could, trying to find his way to somewhere where Ella might be.

Yes. He ran towards the sound of gunfire.

-----------------------

Matt stumbled, but was back up in a second, turning another corner. He skidded to a halt just as another man did the same on the other side of the room. They both raised their guns before they had time to stop, yelling; "FREEZE!"

The redhead blinked. "Mello!"

"Matt!"

"Mail!"

Ella was behind Mello, gasping for breath. They'd been running, too. All three of them turned as the third door burst open and somebody else came in.

"DON'T MOVE!" they cried in unison, training their guns on…

"ELLA!" Near cried out. "You're alive!!" he ran to her, not glancing once at the guns, and embraced her, sobbing.

BANG.

The four of them dropped to the floor; Near tackled Ella down, as one of the windows shattered.

Matt caught a glimpse of a car outside on the street past the jagged glass, the driver aiming a smoking gun. He was masked.

Then Matt took action, running to the others and grabbing Near and Ella by the wrists, yelling at Mello to follow him.

He stumbled outside, dashing across the street to the car. He threw Near and Ella in the back seat and dematerialized, not bothering with the car door, reappearing in the driver's seat. Mello dived over top of the car, for once not questioning Matt, and slid into the passenger seat.

"We have to get them away from here!" Matt yelled as he twisted the key in the ignition, slamming his foot down on the accelerator before the car had truly started. Then; "Get down!"

More gunfire, smashing the back window. Ella and Near threw themselves down, clutching each other's hands. Matt pulled out his gun, sticking one arm out the window while driving with his other. He glanced at the wing-mirror, and fired.

There was a BANG and then a clatter as the other man's gun was knocked out of his hand. Mello stared. "That was a good shot…" he said.

Matt pulled his hand back inside the car, grimacing. "That was a _lucky_ shot." He said grimly, then; "Ella, put on your seatbelt."

Ella's voice was shaky, but sarcastic. "It'd help if there _were_ any…" she muttered.

Matt glared at Mello, who shrugged. "I bet they sold well on eBay…"

Matt groaned and smacked his own forehead, pushing down harder on the accelerator as the masked man continued to chase them.

-----------------------

_A/N: I can just see Matsuda selling car seatbelts on eBay… lol… :D_


	29. Chapter 29

_A/N: I don't own Death Note._

_I can't even think of a cheesily funny disclaimer… Sigh…_

-----------------------

"It's no good!" Matt yelled over the roar of the engine. "I can't lose him!"

Mello scowled, craning his neck to see the car behind them, just as Matt made another violent turn, causing Ella and Near in the back of the car to crash into each other. Mello's face twisted into a grimace. "Carry on!" he ordered Matt, and disappeared.

Matt cried out as he saw Mello fly backwards, whipping his head round. "Mello what the HELL are you _doing_??!" he yelled, a second too late.

Mello, who no longer had enough substance to be held by the car, was left behind. He had to judge his timing _perfectly_, or he'd end up with something sticking through him.

The other car hit him, and he materialized a split-second later, right next to the driver. He had no time for triumph as the man noticed him, seemingly unsurprised by his sudden appearance. Mello threw his fist forwards into the unnamed man's face.

It never connected – the man caught the punch before it hit him and twisted Mello's arm with one hand, driving with the other. Mello snarled, twisting around and thrusting his foot backwards. This time it hit him in the ribs, and the gasp that came from him was audible. He let go of Mello's wrist, and the blond threw his elbow backwards blindly, missing the man's forehead by inches.

-----------------------

Matt cursed loudly, forcing the pedal down with his foot. The déjà vu was the worst part. Except this was only one man.

Déjà vu…

Matt's eyes lit up, and he spun the wheel, screeching down the break. The car skidded to the right, and spun. He didn't hesitate, moving his foot back to the accelerator and speeding back the way he'd come; past the other car.

Unfortunately for them, the two sides of the road were separated by a traffic island. It was impossible to execute a U-turn that didn't leave them going against two lanes of traffic.

"Oh, _shit_…" Matt's eyes widened behind his goggles as he saw the huge truck coming straight at them. He flung the wheel to the right again, missing getting hit by the truck, but unable to regain control of the car.

They drove straight onto the kerb and, by the time Matt got the steering wheel under control, they were smashing through a fence.

-----------------------

Near flinched backwards as the wood gave way to their sixty miles per hour. The car smashed through, swerved and smashed back out, leaving two huge holes in somebody's fence and crazy tyre tracks in their front lawn. Near couldn't stop himself pitching forwards as the car lurched, crashing into Ella and knocking her over.

His face stopped inches away from hers as he grabbed at the air, trying to find something, _anything_ to hold onto. He blushed – the only upside he could see to their awkward position was that, if they happened to crash, he'd be shielding her. To be fair, they probably _would_ crash. Which wasn't actually a great comfort, surprising as it seems. Near winced, trying to move his body off Ella's, but was forced down again as Matt made another failing attempt to get them going in at least the right direction.

-----------------------

I didn't know what was going on. I didn't even know if I was the right way up. The only things I could feel was the crazy lurching of the car, and Near. He seemed to be everywhere, not that I could really feel objective about anything in the situation.

Were we rolling over and over? I couldn't tell. I certainly didn't feel like I was in any way stable.

Understatement of the century.

-----------------------

Mello continued to lash out at the other man in the enclosed space, but that was the thing. He had about three square inches to move around in and the driver was desperately trying to turn.

The wheels slipped, there was a horrible screeching sound, and metal hit metal.

"_FUCK_!!" Mello yelled, dematerializing and falling away as the car was compressed by the back of the same truck Matt had almost been hit by. He staggered backwards as he freed himself from the car, yelling out curses again and again as the two vehicles smashed into each other.

-----------------------

Halle lay with a wooden beam across her legs, thinking about how badly her day was going. She could easily have called for help through her headset, but most of her team – how many she couldn't tell – were getting shot at.

This was how Ide found her, and she whipped out her gun when she heard footsteps, lowering it when she saw who he was.

"Lidner," he said, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She said. "I just need circulation…" he took the hint, hauling the beam off her. She stood, feeling a little dizzy at the blood rushing downwards, away from her head.

"Are you okay?" Ide repeated, "Can you walk?"

"Of course I can w–" she stumbled on her first step and he caught her before she fell. "Okay," she admitted, "I think I'm gonna sit down for a moment." Ide sat on the floor next to her.

"This isn't going too well, is it?" he asked.

Halle shook her head. "No." she couldn't be bothered making a sarcastic remark.

BANG.

Something seemed different about this bang. _Oh, right…_ Halle realized through blinding pain. _That was _me_ getting shot._

A similar BANG, and both her and Ide were unconscious.

-----------------------

Light Yagami vacated Aizawa's body, whipping off the older man's headset as he went and covering the microphone with his clenched fist.

"Y-you…" Aizawa's eyes were wide.

Light smiled coolly. "Yes, Aizawa, it's me." He said. "I'm not going to kill you right now – I have no doubt that you'd only come back as a ghost, and that is something I don't need right now. You'd be able to harm me. Whereas now…" he trailed off, spreading his arms wide providing his chest as a target. "Try to shoot me. See if it'll give you any satisfaction."

Aizawa scowled at him. "Where's my daughter, you bastard?" his voice was choked with fear. Sure, Light wasn't going to kill him, but he could hurt him.

Light's face, which had been the picture of sanity up till then, cracked into the monster Aizawa last remembered. Insanity radiated from him, as well as a sort of mad genius. "Your daughter," he snarled, "was only a way of getting your attention." With that, he clubbed Aizawa across the face with the back of his hand.

"Well." Light muttered to the now unconscious man on the floor, his expression twisting. "Now I've got your attention."

-----------------------

_A/N: No, I'm not killing Ide or Halle either… Especially not Halle. That would completely ruin half my storyline… Actually… O.O ironic that Mello and Halle's relationship would be _improved_ if she were dead. Egh. Still, I can't kill her._


	30. Chapter 30

_A/N: hahahaha I'm going to give you a really long authors note just to drag out all cliffhangers…_

_Actually, no I'm not. I'm not that mean, and besides, I can't think of anything to say…_

-----------------------

Mogi and Gevanni shot at each other. But only before they realized who they were shooting at; and proceeded to apologise profusely to each other before getting shot at again; this time by the enemy.

It seemed that they had the upper hand until another ghost came from behind them and knocked them both unconscious.

-----------------------

Matt's eyes widened at the sound of metal-on-metal crashing behind him. He craned his neck, gasping, to see the wreckage.

Which meant taking his eyes off the road, which – in turn – ultimately meant that a few seconds later they were on the pavement again. He swore loudly, swerving back onto the road, and – using speed from the building pressure – flew right over the island separating the two sides of the road.

He straightened the car up, and started back the way he had come, this time on the side of the road he was supposed to be on. "Ella!" he choked out, now driving only a few dozen miles above the speed limit.

"I-I'm fine…" Ella gasped. Matt's eyes narrowed. If she was fine, why was she gasping? He turned, expecting the worst. He received it. She was lying on her back, presumably thrown there by the car's movement, and Near was lying on top of her, presumably – to Matt, at least – _not_ thrown there. The eighteen-year-old was biting his lip, wincing. Matt glared at him, not bothering to look at the traffic. When Near realized he was being glared at, the blush on his cheeks deepened, and he pulled himself up off her.

Matt groaned, looking back at the road darkly, as Ella caught Near's hand and held onto it.

-----------------------

I grabbed Near's hand with my own shaky one as I sat up, pulling him back towards me. Before he knew what I was doing, I took his face in my other hand and kissed him, unsure of what else to do. He kissed me back after a second, his hands trembling as he threaded his fingers through my hair.

I heard a low growl from the front seat, and I didn't have to see Mail's expression to know how it would look. Basically how I would look if… if nothing. I guessed I didn't exactly have the basis for that sort of dark expression. Near's and my relationship really did seem to bother him. Frowning, I pulled Near closer to me. I wasn't sure whether or not I was trying to provoke my brother, but for some reason I was irked at him. Maybe because of his seemingly baseless prejudice. Surely he had some sympathy for Near after the kidnapping?

Which reminded me… I pulled away, locking my worried eyes with Near's. "Are you okay?" I asked. "I mean… Are you…?"

"I'm fine, Ella." He said, then leaned forwards to press his lips to mine again.

There was a small 'click', and he froze before our lips touched. I opened my eyes as he was pulling away, wondering why. The reason became apparent when I saw the gun that Mail was pressing into Near's head. I saw his narrowed eyes in the rear-view mirror.

"Don't even think about it…" Mail growled. "I honestly have enough to deal with at the moment." Near let go of me completely – obviously he valued his life.

"Let me hold her hand, at least." Near was taking my brother very seriously – I wondered what he'd done to earn it. He couldn't _actually_ shoot Near… Right? Mail didn't say anything, he just glowered, and Near took his silence for an assent, lacing his fingers through mine and squeezing my hand tightly. I sighed.

-----------------------

Light's phone went off in his pocket, and he answered it. "Yes?" he asked in English.

"They're all down. All of them." said the man, irritating Light to no end. Surely 'they're _all_ down' would imply, quite rightly, that '_all_ of them were down'. Light dismissed that, and spoke again.

"You're sure?" this guy wasn't too bright – it was better to check.

"Yup. I think."

Goddammit... Light hated these people. Even more than the task force, who at least wore suits. These guys were despicable. It pissed Light off how much he needed them. "Okay." He said out loud, then hung up.

He put on Aizawa's headset, turning off the microphone, and just listened – checking for anyone who might have gotten away. You could never be too careful.

-----------------------

Mello, still invisible, ran after the car. He wasn't sure how they'd managed to get to the other side of the road, but right now he was only worried about catching up with them. Surprisingly, he didn't have to exert himself too much. After travelling about one hundred metres down the road, the car pulled over. Mello blinked, but ran faster to reach it. Perhaps they'd remembered him…?

Or… Perhaps not…

Mello got into the car, materializing, and turning to see why the hell Matt was holding a gun to Near's head. Everyone turned at his sudden appearance – even Matt, who had presumably known he was there.

Mello narrowed his eyes. "What's going on?" he asked.

"Nothing." Matt growled. "Not if I have anything to do with it."

This answer just made Mello all the more confused. "Well, whatever." He said, rolling his eyes. "If you want to shoot Near I'd be the last person to stop you. But please, let me drive."

Ella didn't say anything. And, of course, she was the only one left with a headset.

-----------------------

Light Yagami nodded to himself, satisfied with the radio silence. There was no more gunfire. They had all, seemingly at least, been taken down. Not necessarily dead, but still. He smiled to nobody in particular.

That was when he noticed the alarm sounding. While the gunshots had been going on, the quieter alarm had been drowned out. The smile dissolved, leaving a look of fierce hatred. The captives…

He turned, running for the room. When he burst into it, there was still twenty captives…

Only twenty… They looked stunned at Light's appearance, but he payed them no mind, instead sweeping the room with his eyes. Looking for a white-haired boy. There was none. He snarled, throwing his clenched fist into the wall.

It broke though, startling Light even through his rage. Logically – although the walls in this place were not particularly thick – he couldn't have punched through one unless somebody had already weakened it. He shook his head, pulling his fist out of the wall, and dashing out of the room, flipping open his phone as he went.

"Hey!" he said before the man on the other end had time to speak. "We have a problem! I take it you're all convened. A boy; looks about twelve, thirteen. White hair and clothes. Find him!" Without checking to see if the man understood – either way, he'd hardly be of any use – he hung up.

Then he ran to the monitor room. He flicked on computers as he passed, typing on keyboards at lightning speed. He hurriedly brought up the GPS program on the screen, entering a search for the transmitter he'd attached to Near.

He grabbed a device, synced it with the information on the screen, and dashed back out of the room, slipping on the headset and speaking into it as he went.

"Ella Jeevas." He said. "Ella Jeevas. Can you hear me?"

-----------------------

I blinked at the unfamiliar voice in my head. I answered without thinking. "Who are you?"

My words were met with a harsh, bitter laugh. Then the man spoke again. "I take it you have Near with you."

It wasn't a question. The blood drained from my face. Near saw this, holding my hand tighter. He then glanced at Mail once, and pressed his lips lightly to my cheek. I blinked.

He spoke, his lips moving against my skin. "Light Yagami." He said, presumably into my microphone. It, too, was not a question. My mouth opened in surprise. Near? How did he know that…?

I would have shaken my head, if I weren't frozen in place. Near was just too smart.

Another bitter laugh. "Yes. Of course." Near didn't respond, but then he couldn't hear what I could. Yagami had probably just assumed I'd given him my headset. This thought made me blush, for no reason. I pushed Near away, and offered it to him. He put it on without questioning me, curling a strand of hair around his finger thoughtfully.

A moment of silence, and Near frowned. Then he spoke. "Yes. We have a very skilled hacker on our side." Another pause, and then; "Yes, actually." His eyes widened. "What? Okay." His mouth set into a thin line.

He took off the headset, holding it out to… my brother. Mail blinked, and then looked at Near, his eyes questioning. He lowered the gun, taking the headset and putting it on. I raised an eyebrow at nobody in particular.

-----------------------

"Hello, Kira." Matt said, the corner of his mouth turning up. Whether in amusement or nerves he couldn't tell.

"You obviously know who I am." said a voice that Matt put beside his image of the face with no great surprise. It suited him. "Won't you tell me who you are?"

"No." Matt said bluntly. He couldn't tell this man even his alias – assuming Kira knew the connection between him and Ella. He couldn't risk her getting kidnapped because of him. Or something worse.

"Right." Said Kira. "You managed to hack my system. Someone with that ability must be used to not giving his identity."

Matt smiled wryly. "Yeah, I'm kinda known for my anonymity." The joke was a little ironic, considering how much he hated the man he was talking to. "What do you want?" He resisted the urge to add 'bastard' to the end of his sentence – he couldn't risk saying anything that might link him to L, or Wammy's House. Swearing at him would indicate that he wanted revenge.

Well, he did. Of course he did. But probably not as much as Mello or Near did. Assuming Near could actually _feel_ enough to want revenge. Speaking of which… Matt turned to the eighteen-year-old while waiting for an answer, glaring. Near was only looking at him seriously, although he was still clasping Ella's hand in his own.

Kira growled audibly. "What would _you_ want to do to the people who caused your death?"

Matt blinked at that. He'd never thought much about the people who'd actually _killed_ him. They had just been subordinates. They were like he would have been if Mello had ever told him to kill someone. Actually, come to think of it… Mello had told him to kill Gevanni. And he'd refused...

But the person who'd _caused_ his death? Well, he was speaking to him. And he wanted revenge. But not just for his own death – for L's; for Mello's. For causing Ella to be in so much misery. For killing the innocent as well as the guilty. For everything.

Matt decided – against his better judgement – to reveal something. "I want to kill you. But you're already dead." It wasn't as if he was revealing _much_; after all, Kira had caused the deaths of thousands of people.

He could almost _hear_ Kira's surprise. There was a pause. Then; "Oh. I see. I'm sure I had a very good reason."

Matt wasn't going to let that one through. Telling Kira whether or not he'd had a good reason would narrow down the amount of people Matt could be. "How do you justify killing someone, Kira?" he asked rhetorically, avoiding the question. There was a pause.

"Well…" Kira finally spoke. "I just contacted you to tell you that your whole team is down. Even the woman." There was a click as Kira turned off his microphone, leaving the line in dead silence. Matt clenched his teeth.

He whipped off the headset, fuming. If that was all Kira wanted to tell him, then he was just buying time…

"Mello." He turned to the blond, who looked back at him with sudden fear in his eyes. Like he knew what was coming. "The whole team is down. Including…" he trailed off. At first, Mello's lack of reaction made Matt think that the other ghost hadn't heard him. Then Mello turned his eyes back to the road. A tear slid down his cheek, which worried Matt. That wasn't like Mello at all.

Matt turned back to Near, his expression serious. "Near, you probably have a tracking device on you." He said. "And I'm all for chucking you out and letting Kira find you. But I guess that would defeat the purpose of this entire mission."

-----------------------

Mello's world was breaking apart. His vision was blurred by tears. He should have been worried about his lack of sight, but he wasn't. He didn't care if they crashed. Matt had said that the whole team was 'down'. Not dead. Not necessarily. The thought did not inspire much hope.

Because somewhere, deep inside him, Mello wondered if he _wanted_ Hal to die. Wouldn't that mean they could be together? Somehow – though he could see the logic in such a thought – he didn't want it. He didn't want her to die.

He heard a vague voice through his thoughts, and it took him a while to realize that someone was talking to him. He snapped out of his reverie, just as Matt spoke a third time. "Mello? Can you hear me?"

"Y-yes I can hear you." He choked the words out.

"Mello." Matt's voice was sympathetic, concerned. "It's okay. But I need to know where we're going."

Mello shrugged. He wasn't at all sure where they were going. He was just taking turns instinctively.

Another instinct told him to pull over, so he did. The car was in front of an old building made of corrugated iron – not very distinctive. A gasp from Near made Mello look around as he turned off the engine.

"This is…" Near blinked. He looked too stunned to say anything more. Mello noticed Ella looking at him, and he met her gaze. Her eyebrows pulled together in a frown. She looked slightly quizzical.

_Of course._ Mello thought absently. _She's never seen me cry. In fact, I suppose she's only really seen me being aggressive. She's like most of the people I know in that way. Everyone but Matt, really. And Hal… _Even thinking the name made the tears fall faster.

Ella realized he'd noticed her, but didn't look away. She smiled weakly in understanding. She knew what he was feeling.

"This is what, Near?" Matt asked impatiently. Near looked at him, as did Ella and Mello.

"This is the place where I confronted Kira." He said. Everyone stared; first at Near, and then at the building. Near looked at Mello, about to say something. Then he did a double take. "Are you crying?" he asked.

"Yes." Mello couldn't be bothered with sarcasm.

Near blinked, and then comprehension dawned on his face. "Y-you and Lidner?" he stuttered. "You really were… _Are_…" he trailed off. Of course. Near didn't know. _Hadn't_ known, at least. Mello didn't care enough to answer him, looking back out the window at the building.

His instincts had led him here. He doubted this was going to be any more pleasant than the last time anyone had come here.

-----------------------

_A/N: sooo… :D_

_You may wonder why this chapter is so long. It's because this is actually two chapters that I merged together. And by 'merged' I mean; I stuck one on the end of the other and took out the author's notes in between. :P_


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N: Sigh… I can never seem to be able to write a _short_ fanfiction… huh…_

_I don't own Death Note_

-----------------------

_Near paced – something he, and those around him, were not used to him doing. He was worried, to say the least. This was not good. When the news report came, it got even worse. He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide, as he heard the words._

"We've had a report that the police were forced to shoot one of the perpetrators_."_

"_Oh, God…" Near wasn't sure who had said the despairing words, and frankly he didn't care. He hurried over to look at the screen, and the blood slipped away from his face._

"_Matt…" he whispered. For a few seconds, nobody spoke. The news continued as background noise. Then Near turned professional. "Gevanni," he turned to the black-haired man, his eyes cold, "get me all the information you can on 'Ella Jeevas'."_

_Gevanni nodded seriously, turning to his computer screen. A mere two minutes later, he spoke. "Ella Jeevas. She's living in Phoenix, Arizona. She has a part-time job as a waitress but no other income. Her parents are dead, and according to this, she has no other family."_

_Near nodded. "Of course; Watari would have deleted all of Matt's files." The words were hollow. "Address?" Gevanni told him. "Okay, Rester, you come with me. We're going."_

_Rester blinked in surprise, but nodded. "Right." He said. "I'll fly us."_

_-------_

_There had been no news on the kidnapping, and Near was anxious._

_They – he and Rester – were standing in front of Ella's door. Near reached up and rang the bell. There was no sound from inside. He knocked. No answer, even after three minutes. In the end, Near tried the door handle. It was unlocked. The two of them ventured inside, aiming the look through the apartment, but stopped in the first room._

_Near hesitated for a second, then ran to the red-haired girl lying on the floor, Rester behind him. The agent glanced at the TV, which was still on. "Same channel that reported the kidnapping." He said. "She must have seen the report…" he trailed off, then; "She's probably in shock."_

_Near frowned, using one finger to tilt Ella Jeevas's face towards him. "She's beautiful." He commented. Rester started, tripping backwards. Near looked at him quizzically. "What?" he asked._

_Rester blinked. "It's just that… You've never said anything like that before…"_

"_Haven't I?" Near cocked his head to one side, looking back at Ella. Then his expression hardened. "We need to get her to the hospital." He said, releasing her face._

"_The hospital?" Rester asked. Near stood._

"_Yes. She's been out cold for quite a long time."_

"_Okay…" Rester picked her up, and followed Near out to the car. The agent put Ella in the back with Near, while he himself got in the front. He started driving._

_Near was left in the back with Ella's head cradled on his lap, forcing him to sit normally. His heart skipped a beat at the contact, and he felt suddenly nervous._

Hmmm…_ he thought, _… with these signs, it's highly likely that I'm physically attracted to her…

_Without quite knowing what he was doing, he leant down, checking to ensure Rester's eyes were on the traffic, and pressed his lips gently to hers. His heart broke into a sprint, and a strange warmth flooded up to his face._ I'm blushing…_ he realized. It had never happened before._

_He pulled away._ That clinches it,_ he thought, smiling nervously, _I'm attracted to her. This could become… Troublesome…

"… _Ella…" it took him a while to realize he'd said the name out loud, although quietly. His voice was full of some odd emotion._

"_Huh?" he looked up. It was Rester, gazing at him questioningly. They'd stopped at a red light._

"_Oh," Near said, still blushing, "I thought she'd woken up, but…" the lie was perfectly obvious, but Rester turned his gaze back to the road. Near could have sworn he saw the beginnings of a wry smile on the agent's face._

Near blinked, shaking himself out of the memory as the four of them began walking to the warehouse. The time Mello had pushed them into each other had not been their first kiss, but it had been their first mutual one.

-----------------------

Halle slipped back into consciousness slowly, surprised that she felt no pain. She reached up, touching her head gingerly with her fingertips. As far as she could tell, she was fine. Odd. She'd been shot in the head.

Eventually, the answer came to her. She'd been shot with a ghost bullet. Not as strong or damaging as a normal one, but certainly enough to knock her out. She cringed at the thought of what would have happened had it been a regular gun.

Halle winced, sitting up. Ide, beside her, was doing the same. Halle didn't think about him. The silence from the radio told her that nobody was getting shot at anymore. Which could mean…

"Mello?" she asked urgently. "Where are you? Mello?"

A few seconds, and then a surprised voice; "Halle? Are you alright?"

"Matt?" she asked. "Matt, where is he?"

"HAL!" it was Mello's voice, and it sounded oddly choked.

"Mello!" she cried. "You're alive–" she broke off, choking out a sob at her own Freudian slip. "Oh, God…" she whispered.

"W-wait…" Ide was looking at her with wide eyes. "W-what's going on…?"

Neither her or Mello paid any attention to him. "Hal?" Mello said, quieter. "I know he's listening. I know Kira's listening."

"K-Kira…?"

He continued as if she hadn't spoken. "I doubt stating the obvious is going to change anything. So, I love you, Hal. And you're going to be okay."

"I love you, too…" she whispered.

-----------------------

Light Yagami's eyes narrowed as he sat in the car. He'd learned several interesting things. For one – Lidner and Ide were alive and conscious. Some stupid mistake made by some useless guy… Another thing, even more interesting, was that Mello and Lidner were clearly in love – something which the others hadn't known either. At least, Ide hadn't known.

This, by itself, told him many things. Lidner had been the leak in the SPK, and also probably the reason Mello had gotten away with kidnapping Takada. She'd been there when – no, she'd probably _let_ him take her. Misa or Kiyomi would have done that for him, so supposedly Lidner would have done that for Mello.

He wondered if Mello was using her. No, probably not, seeing as how he'd risked quite a lot to tell her he loved her. Light was going to take advantage of that fully.

He started the engine, and begun following the GPS unit. He was too engrossed in his plans to notice the car tailing him.

-----------------------

Yamamoto trembled in fear, keeping flat to the wall as he edged into the next room. From the sound of things, he was alone. He'd never asked for this. Hell, he'd never even thought he was going to be _in_ the police force.

Now there were ghosts, they were shooting at him, and their leader was Yamamoto's high school friend, Light Yagami.* It was all too much for the Japanese cop to take. And to cap it all, a high-pitched alarm was going off through the entire building, distracting him and, quite frankly, giving him a headache.

Something caught his eye, and he stared. It was Yagami! He was outside, in a car, just pulling away. Yamamoto ran, jumping into the first car he could find, and followed him.

-----------------------

Halle stood, walking briskly out of the room. Ide had to jog to catch up to her. He turned off his microphone so he could talk to her. "What's going on? With you and Mello?"

Halle glared at him, but didn't answer. She glanced to her right, and stopped abruptly. A room full of computers. She hurried in, moving quickly to the one that was on. There was a GPS program on the screen, showing a bright red dot…

Halle gasped. The dot was labelled 'Near'. She was even more stunned when she saw the location.

"Right, Ide, we're going." She said, turning away. Ide had no choice but to follow her.

-----------------------

_A/N: :D. Yup, I'm re-using the idea of the 'Yellow Box' warehouse._

_* = Yes, Yamamoto _was_ Light's high school friend. It's somewhere in volume 4. :D_


	32. Chapter 32

_A/N: It would be Beyond Awesome if I owned Death Note. (haha! Beyond! :P)_

_Posting two chapters in one day – because I don't want to give people spoilers… It would be too tempting if I didn't post _now_._

-----------------------

I had to admit – I was scared. I clutched at Near's hand so tightly it was a wonder he didn't pull away – though actually, he seemed to be holding my hand just as firmly.

At the moment the thought crossed my mind, he pulled away. But only for a second, after which he pulled my close to him, wrapping his arms around my waist so tightly I felt almost unable to breathe. That was okay, though; my throat was so constricted I wouldn't have been able to breathe normally anyway. I held him, too, resting my chin on his shoulder.

We were standing in the building – the 'Yellow Box' warehouse – and waiting for Kira to arrive. I wasn't sure what would happen when he did. My brother was over the other side of the room, studiously ignoring us. Mello was pacing. He'd stopped crying, but he was obviously worried about Halle. I was, too. She was one of the best friends I'd ever had – not that I'd ever had many friends.

"It's okay…" Near whispered the words in my ear, sensing my discomfort, but they echoed around the room, mingling with the sound of Mello's footfalls. For all that anybody reacted, though, I may as well have been the only one to hear them. When Near kissed me, it felt more comforting than romantic. Either way, nobody said anything else.

-----------------------

Mello wanted to swear at Near. Was now _really_ the time? But, to be fair to Jerkface, if Hal was there Mello'd probably be doing the same. He needed to see her. At least hear her voice… Maybe he should contact her through the radio again… No. He couldn't do that – he didn't want to risk leaking any information to Kira, other than what was already painfully obvious.

The sound of the door opening penetrated Mello's consciousness, and he whirled, pulling out his gun. His eyes widened, and he wondered if he was hallucinating. He lowered the gun with trembling hands, not quite able to comprehend that Hal was actually _here_. Alive.

Matt moved first, only raising an eyebrow. "Hal?" he asked. Near and Ella were still embracing, leaning their heads on each others shoulders, seemingly unaware of the two people entering the building.

Mello put away his gun, walked slowly to Hal and kissed her, requiring no other form of expression. He paid no attention to Ide, who was standing behind her looking sheepish.

-----------------------

Matt rolled his eyes, smirking apologetically at Ide. If it was even possible to smirk apologetically. "Sorry about this." He said.

Ide looked away from the 'reuniting' couple, turning to Matt. He seemed beyond speech. Matt had an urge to say 'well, this is awkward…', but he doubted anyone was listening to him. It was incredibly ironic that – while Mello and Near had so many differences – they had found love at the same time. Although Matt didn't consider Near's relationship with Ella to be ironic so much as it was infuriating.

For lack of anything else to do, Matt dematerialized and materialized again. It felt odd, flickering in and out of existence. The sound of two cars pulling up outside had Matt's gaze turning back the door that was still open.

"He's here." Matt said, and this time everyone reacted. Ella and Near pulled apart after sharing a brief kiss, not even keeping each others hands. Of course it would be better not to implicate their relationship. Ide turned, glad of the distraction, and took out his gun. Mello let go of Halle, turning her around and wrapping one arm around her waist, while he whipped out his gun with his free hand. Halle didn't take out her gun, but her hand lingered on her belt – ready at any moment.

Light Yagami was greeted by four guns and six varying glares.

-----------------------

His plan was absolute simplicity, but it would work. There was no doubt it would work – and it would achieve exactly what he wanted. Sure, he would probably get shot, or injured, or even completely ripped apart. But he didn't care. Not now that he was dead.

He paced into the room, ignoring the guns pointed at him. They had no reason to shoot him right now. Hal Lidner and Ide were here, but that was irrelevant. It would only increase the magnitude of his revenge.

Light turned to face his enemies, smiling. They thought he wouldn't do anything. They thought he feared getting shot. Hah.

There were no words. Nobody spoke. Light ran.

The gunfire started immediately; nine bullets found their mark, but Light didn't stop running.

He merged into Near's body as easily as diving through water.

-----------------------

"ELLA, RUN!" Mail yelled at me, and I staggered away from Near. Not Near. Kira.

He looked so different with Kira possessing him. His stance, the way his hands curled into fists. But mostly his face. His eyes. They looked so evil they might as well have turned red.

Silence. Then, there was an audible 'clink' sound as something dropped to the floor. My eyes widened as I choked back tears. Kira was holding up something small and green.

A grenade.

And he'd just dropped the pin.

-----------------------

_A/N: (in-chapter comment) hahaha you _hate_ me! :DDD_

-----------------------

Mail and Mello clicked back the hammers of their guns at exactly the same time, and I whirled. They wouldn't hesitate to shoot Near…

My heart lurched in fear. "NO!" I yelled, running in front of him and spreading my arms wide as a shield.

The silence was piercing, agonising. "Ella! If you do this, you'll die!" Mail growled.

"I don't care!"

"Halle would die as well." Matt pointed out in a low voice; in a way that would have – in any other situation – seemed like contempt. He was beyond joking. This was beyond a joke.

I held my ground. Mail slowly lowered his gun, but Mello kept his trained on me; the look on his face was almost inhuman with… what? Rage? Fear?

This was just like my nightmare. Only it wasn't Near shielding me – it was me shielding Near. And if he did this – if _I_ did this – he would still die. But I knew that would be true no matter what happened. I spoke quietly, but everything, _everything_ I felt was communicated in my harsh whisper. "If you shoot him, he'll move to me. Then to Ide. Eventually to Halle. Would you rather we died by his hands, or by yours?"

Mello did not seem to understand me – he was beyond comprehending. This was beyond comprehension.

There was a sound from behind me, and I whirled, my eyes widening as a cry escaped my throat.

Time seemed to slow down as several things happened at once – surprisingly not making any of them easier to bear.

Kira's fingers slackened, letting the grenade fall.

Something rushed in front of me, obscuring my view of Near.

In my wide-eyed terror, I didn't even hear the bullet that hit me in the back.

For one agonising second before the numbness swallowed me, I felt the harsh pain of life in a jagged tear across my whole world. Tears and blood painted a brilliant picture of everything I'd ever endured, colouring my agony outside the lines of what I'd thought was reality. Worst of all; it was not a relief when it stopped.

I staggered forwards, falling into Near.

We crashed to the ground together; his eyes blinking in bewilderment despite the fact that they were already filling with tears. His subconscious knew what was happening even if he did not.

The last thing I was aware of was his lips on mine. I didn't know who had forced the contact, and I didn't feel it. I was beyond feeling.

This was beyond…

This Was Beyond.

-----------------------

_A/N: oh, my GOD. _Why the hell did I do that_??_

_This is what I'm asking myself at the moment. I'm screaming at myself; 'YOU JUST SHOT YOUR MAIN CHARACTER!! WHY??!"_

_This is what comes of being into your writing. :p…_

_See you guys next chapter, where there _will_ be explanations… If I live that long… :3_

-----------------------


	33. Chapter 33

_A/N: soo…_

_I don't own Death Note or the awesome characters. Or even the sadistic ones. (naming-no-names-*cough*-Light-kun-*cough*)_

-----------------------

Matt saw everything in a blur.

The dark shape that barrelled past Near and knocked Kira out of his body was just background noise next to everything else that was happening.

"NO! ELLA!!" Matt tripped forwards as his sister fell, crashing to his knees next to her.

-----------------------

Mello's eyes widened as he realized his finger was on the trigger of his gun.

He had come _that_ close to being the one to shoot Ella.

He whirled, crying out in rage as he pulled the trigger, knocking the gun out of the hand of the man in the doorway.

-----------------------

Yamamoto yelled as he tackled Light, squeezing the grenade in his left hand and fighting his instinct to let it go.

_I AM GOING TO DIE!_ He screamed at himself in his head as Light punched him. Yamamoto retaliated, lashing out at his former friend while Kira twisted around and tried to kick the grenade out of Yamamoto's hand.

If he let go, he would die. If he didn't restrain Light, he would die. If Light escaped after Yamamoto restrained him, he'd die. If he did _anything_ wrong, his superiors would kill him. And if he did somehow manage to do everything right, he'd be hunted down and killed by the mafia.

Somehow, he felt the situation wasn't _quite_ in his favour.

-----------------------

Halle was torn, whipping her head back and forth between Mello and Ella. She knew she had to do something, _now_.

_I can't breathe_, she realized.

That was when she became aware of the man choking her from behind. She threw her elbow back into the man's stomach, forcing him to release her. She whipped around, dealing him a crippling blow.

She blinked at the man falling to his knees. "Ide!" she said. "Oh, God!"

-----------------------

"ELLA!" Near yelled, echoing Matt's thoughts. Ella's head was resting on Near's chest, and he was half sitting up, tears streaking down his face. A trickle of blood ran from the corner of Ella's mouth.

Matt held his own tears at bay by inches, clutching at Ella's wrists and trying to feel her pulse. He cried out when at first he felt nothing. He pressed harder, and it was there. Uneven. Weak. "She's alive…" he whispered, so quiet it was a wonder Near heard him. The eighteen-year-old got to his feet, lifting Ella with him.

Matt blinked through the tears that he couldn't contain anymore. "You're stronger than you look, Near." He said.

"She's not heavy." Near replied, choking. "She's–"

"My sister." Matt's mouth twisted into a grimace at the irony. "Come on. We need to get her to the hospital."

-----------------------

_This is not something they prepare you for in martial arts class_…

Halle was using an odd combination of Judo, Kendo and Capoeira, but it wasn't working. The first reason was that this man obviously had no experience in any of these, and wasn't using any of the retaliation techniques that would have been proved useless by the mix of fighting styles.

The second reason was that he was a ghost. If she did manage to hit him – which she didn't very often – he couldn't feel it.

The man had only recently vacated Ide's body after she'd given him a blow that had actually hurt him. But only because he had been inside a human – _living_ – body. Now there was no way she could plausibly hurt him unless she either stole his gun, or became a ghost and possessed a living body. Neither of which was going to happen.

Halle dodged another of his clumsy blows, dropping to the floor and pushing up with her hands, throwing her foot into his face. He disappeared before she could hit him, reappearing a few seconds later behind her.

She whirled, resorting to brute force and punching him in the face.

He staggered backwards, clutching his nose. Halle looked at her fist, blinking in surprise.

Then she smiled. She'd just defied the newly-written laws of physics.

-----------------------

Mello's gun clicked empty. _That really sucks…_ He thought, faced with a man half a head taller than him who, despite the bullet wound in his arm, was now bearing down on Mello.

_What to do, what to do…_ Mello pondered with one part of his mind. The other part was desperately looking around the room. Then he saw it.

_Ah! My salvation!_ He thought. "Matt!" he yelled. "I need Near!"

Matt blinked at him. He and Near were halfway out the door with Ella. Then the redhead nodded, asking no questions as he took his sister from Near and left. This left Near surprised, with a sort of desperation on his features.

_Well. _Mello thought._ Here goes nothing…_ With that, he ran to his former rival and took possession of his body.

The two of them merged together, leaving Near's face with a look of cold determination and both of their minds in one head. Which, obviously, was not a good idea.

_This feels… weird…_ Mello decided._ I'm short… I mean… He's short… Whatever…_

_Wait! What are you DOING?? _Near's voice yelled at Mello from inside his – _Near's_ – head.

Ignoring Near, Mello turned the decidedly short body back to the large man and threw Near's fist into his face.

-----------------------

_A/N: Ahahahaha!!! XD… Evil laugh… I have _always_ wanted to do that! Well, okay, not always. It only occurred to me now, but…_

_I mean – Mello needs a body to possess so he can actually harm this guy, and… I wasn't gonna go with Ide. :p… sorry, Ide fans, he's just not as much fun as Mello and Near in the same body._

_I suppose I could have gone with Mello and Halle, but… that's actually kind of perverse… x_x… think about it._


	34. Chapter 34

_A/N: :3. new chapter?_

_I in no way, shape or form own Death Note._

-----------------------

Near was, for once in his life, truly angry. _Let me go, Mello!_ He yelled internally – the only way he could plausibly yell.

_No, Near. I need a body. _Mello snarled back at him.

_Take Ide!_ Near struggled against the mental bonds that held him. _He's taller than me, and stronger than me!_

_He's unconscious, jackass! For once in your life, try to be submissive! Oh, yeah, you can act like you don't care. Face it, Near, you're stubborn!_ Mello was holding Near down at the same time as dodging an attack by his opponent, which made his internal rant a little garbled.

_I'm not stubborn!_ Near growled, contradicting himself.

Mello snarled again, bringing up Near's fist and punching the shared body in the face.

Near cried out from inside, fuming. _If that was a demonstration of power, it completely and utterly failed! By demonstrating your 'power' you'll only end up injuring yourself – physically more than mentally. Think about it. Blowing up that building, getting yourself killed. This instance is exactly the same!_

_Shut up!_ Mello touched his throbbing cheek. _We don't have time for verbal battles! Right now it's just your mind against mine, coupled with me against him. Add my determination and yours into the equation, and this – like everything else – is unnecessarily complicated. So shut up. Just _shut up_!_

The attacker, having been a little perplexed by Mello punching himself, had recovered and was attempting to harm them again. Mello blocked each blow, but Near's arms were reluctant, and he was getting more desperate with every block. Eventually, something would slip past.

_Goddammit, Near, stop resisting! _He said._ Or you're going to die!_

Near was not deterred. _Placing my life against Ella's is an act of desperation which will ultimately fail. She could die!_

_So could Halle! _Near slumped. Only for half a second, but it allowed Mello to tackle their opponent to the ground. Once he was holding him down, he kept up the verbal assault that he himself had declared to be futile. Hypocrisy governed his life, as it had also governed his death. _And, unlike Ella, her life is going to be effected in a definitive way by my presence – and also yours. Either way, Ella's going to be fine even if you're not there!_

_Going to be FINE?? _Near finally lost control of his anger. _You speak as if getting shot is a daily occurrence!_

Mello, in his defensiveness, completely damned himself. _Well, Matt got shot, and he… _Crap_…_

His mental lapse triggered a physical one, and Near's head snapped backwards as his opponent punched him.

_Another mistake that got someone killed! _Near shouted at him, increasing the pain in his head.

_Near, _Mello growled, _if you win this fight, you die, you lose. If you lose, you lose. Isn't that depressing? And to think, Near, that for once _you're_ the one who's ignoring all logic._

Finally, Mello threw a punch that knocked the unnamed man unconscious. Near, relieved that it was over, relaxed and stopped struggling.

Big mistake.

Mello took advantage of this in its entirety, sprinting across the room and tackling the man Halle was fighting.

_Are you INSANE?? _Near yelled at him. He was completely ignored.

"N-Near?" Halle staggered backwards, eyes widening.

"Hal! Are you okay?"

There was a few seconds silence from Halle, and then; "… Mello…?" Mello was surprised she'd figured it out so quickly, but then he and Matt were the only ones who called her 'Hal'.

Mello grabbed the back of the other man's head and smashed his face into the floor. Halle, behind him, decided to take that as a 'yes'.

Mello stood, satisfied that his opponent wouldn't be waking up any time soon, and turned to Halle. He reached out to her and pulled her into an embrace. Before he had time to do anything else, though, Near's fist came up and punched him in the face.

Unsure which way physics told him to stagger, Mello swayed. He wasn't given time to recover as Near yelled at him. _What the HELL do you think you're doing??!_

_Oh… Right… Sorry…_ Mello realized he'd been about to kiss Halle using Near's body – something which none of them particularly wanted. He'd even driven Near to swearing at him, which was a definite first. He stumbled out of Near's body, leaving the eighteen-year-old clenching his fists. He had three marks on his face – surprisingly enough, only one of which had been caused by the enemy.

"You can be a real idiot sometimes, Mello!" Near apparently wasn't done shouting at him, because he continued his rant out loud. "Punching people with my fists is bad enough, but…" he trailed off, glancing at Halle.

Halle, surprisingly, was shaking with laughter. "T-there must be some sort of regulation against…" she paused, unable to continue through her near-hysterics. "… kissing your eighteen-year-old genius boss…" she covered her mouth with her hand, muffling her giggles.

Mello and Near stopped glaring at each other and started glaring at her. Then Mello's expression softened. He caught her wrist and kissed her, forcing her to stop laughing.

-----------------------

Yamamoto stumbled backwards, still holding the grenade in his left hand. It hadn't gone off yet, but it was only a matter of time before he would be forced to let it go. He staggered away from Light, who got up, advancing slowly.

Their eyes locked.

And Light staggered forwards, snarling at the blow to the back of his head. He had only just righted himself when he was hit in the face.

Two people appeared, one in front of him and the other behind. A woman with long dark hair was bringing her foot down from the kick she'd delivered, and a black-haired man wearing an overcoat was still holding his briefcase in the air behind Light.

A split second later, they disappeared again, leaving Light whirling around. It became obvious to Yamamoto that even Light could not see them. Strange. They'd only appeared for a few seconds…

Taking the opportunity, Yamamoto ran.

_Oh, happy day…_ He thought sarcastically as he stumbled outside with the bomb in his hand.

-----------------------

_A/N: soooooo… :D?_

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	35. Chapter 35

_A/N: just for the record, those two guys who appeared were Raye and Naomi. :D_

_I don't own Death Note, again just for the record._

-----------------------

Matt was in the E.R, swearing. He was pacing, muttering curses under his breath, and just generally scaring the nurses. Ella was still in surgery – not surprising, seeing as how they'd only reached the hospital five minutes earlier – and Matt was already fretting.

What if she wasn't okay? What if she died? It would be his fault, more than anything. Although Matt could rightfully say that it was also Near's fault, because if she hadn't been standing in front of him she wouldn't have been shot. Probably, anyway. In fact, now that he thought about it, why had that guy shot Ella? Why not Matt? That would have been so much better – because he was obviously using a normal gun. A ghost gun wouldn't have hurt Ella.

For the first time in his life, Matt wished Near was there. He needed someone to swear _at_. Why had Mello needed him…? Matt stopped in his tracks, blinking. "Crap." He said, and kept pacing. Wasn't that just… No, there were no words for Mello and Near in the same body. No literal ones, anyway. As far as metaphorical went, Matt instantly thought; 'explosive'. Then he shook his head. That one could definitely be literal as well.

Matt didn't look up as yet another person stumbled into the emergency room. That was how they came – either stumbling or rolling. He did look up, however, as a familiar voice called; "Madd…?"

Matt squinted. "Matsuda? God, you look awful." He did. His nose was out of shape and bloody, and it looked as if he had two black eyes.

"Glub." Matsuda explained – not very articulately through his broken nose, but Matt understood him.

"Ah. Right."

"Whad're you doing here?" the 'd' added itself.

"Ella got shot." Matt's voice broke on the last word.

"Ah." With that, Matsuda slumped into a chair, holding his nose. The people around him seemed to almost squirm away. "Gould you get a durse? Or subthing?"

"Whatever you say…" Matt said grimly, flagging down a nurse.

-----------------------

Near turned away from his old rival and his co-worker, shaking his head. It was about then that he noticed that he, Mello and Halle were the only ones in the room. Apart from Ide, who was still unconscious, and the two thugs who were similarly incapacitated. One glance at the couple behind him told him that he wasn't going to get any help there.

He was about to run outside, but stopped at the doorway. He turned. Then he succumbed. He ran to the unconscious thug and took the gun from his belt. He had no way of knowing if it was a normal gun or a ghost gun, but he didn't have the luxury of doubt.

Near tested the weight of the gun in his hand. In theory, he knew how to operate it. In practice… not so much. Holding the gun with uncertainty, he dashed outside. What he saw was not good, but in no way a rival to what was inside the building (namely Halle and Mello and a whole lot of awkwardness.)

Yamamoto was still holding the grenade, and didn't look as if he was about to let it go – but then looks can be, and often are, deceiving. Light had his back to Near, and was cradling one arm in the other; which was where the majority of his bullet wounds seemed to be.

Near clicked back the hammer of the gun. That sound alone was enough to get Light to turn, his face twisted with rage and insanity. He seemed a little surprised at Near holding a gun, but didn't comment. Near looked into Light's eyes, tilting his head to one side and narrowing his own dark eyes. He spoke without moving his gaze.

"Drop the bomb, Yamamoto."

"Wh-what…?"

Near looked at the cop, scowling. "Drop the bomb. Do it." He moved the gun's aim to the grenade. "If you don't, I'll shoot it. And my aim isn't that good."

Yamamoto took the hint, his face projecting exactly what he was feeling. He was feeling that he was the only sane person there, and that he was about to die.

He dropped the bomb. It exploded. Naturally.

Near smirked.

-----------------------

_A/N: XDXDXD!!!_

Hah. You hate me, don't you. :D (I feel like BB for some reason… O.O??)


	36. Chapter 36

_A/N: you all think I'm insane, don't you? ____…_

_Insane or not, I don't own Death Note._

-----------------------

Light was blown off his feet, crashing to the ground a few metres back with an expression of mixed horror and fury on his face.

"Just as I thought." Near said, smiling.

"Yipee." Yamamoto's voice was hollow, shaky but sarcastic. "You just proved that grenades tend to explode when you drop them."

"No." Near said, aiming his gun at Light again. "I now know why the ghosts are here."

Yamamoto squeezed his eyes shut and yelled curses into the sky, experiencing a bout of hysteria. Near allowed him thirty seconds before he cut in.

"Allow me to explain." He said. Yamamoto stopped yelling and glared at him. "That grenade was a ghost grenade. Obviously it didn't harm either of us, did it?" he was right.

"B-but…" Yamamoto stuttered.

"But…" Light echoed in a whisper. "It wasn't! How could it have been? I…" Near fired a warning shot into the building inches from Light's head. To be honest, it wasn't supposed to be that close. Near didn't have much practice with aiming a gun.

"Don't interrupt." He snapped, then continued. "The way I see it, being a ghost is essentially a second chance at life. And given that humans tend to be stubborn and unwilling to learn, I'd say that every ghost just does exactly the same thing they did while they were alive." The smirk became more pronounced. "In Light's case? At the risk of sounding clichéd, it was his destiny to fail."

"To fail?" Yamamoto blinked.

"Exactly." Near said. "And in order for him to fail, something had to go wrong in his plan. Since his 'plan' in this instance was such simplicity, the mistake had to be one of _absolute_ simplicity. He picked up the wrong grenade. That's all that happened."

It took a minute for this to sink in. "B-but this is just a theory, right…? Yamamoto processed.

"_Was_ just a theory. I now know I was right. But yes, it was."

"You…" Yamamoto began to comprehend. "You risked our lives… On the basis of a _theory_??" by the time he'd finished the sentence, he was yelling. "We could have been killed! You IDIOT!"

Near gazed at him evenly. "I'm L, Yamamoto." He said. "I'm the world's greatest detective. The word 'idiot' does not become me."

Yamamoto snapped, screaming in frustration. Light was pretty much doing the same thing.

He lunged at Near, who pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit nothing. Not because Near was a bad aim, either. Before Light could reach him, he disintegrated into nothing. Near was left aiming the gun at thin air.

"Mello!" he yelled. "Quickly!"

Mello appeared. "I heard an explosion and gunshots." He said. "What more could you possibly want…" he trailed off. "Are you holding a gun?" he asked, frowning.

Near ignored him. "Can you see him? Can you see Light?"

Mello looked around. "Uh, no, Near." He looked back at the eighteen-year-old with a quizzical look on his face. He looked concerned, in an ironic way.

Near lowered the gun, smirking again. "Heh." He said. "I was definitely right."

"Near," Mello said slowly, "I think you'd better explain."

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_Two Days Later_

I woke up in a hospital room. The first thing I remembered was the last time I'd been in hospital. I wasn't sure if it was a bad memory or a good one. On the one hand, I'd had to come to terms with my brother's death. On the other hand, that had been the first time I'd seen Near.

The second thing I remembered was the reason I was here in the first place. "… Near…?" I murmured. Was he okay? I'd been shot – I could only assume something worse had happened to him.

"Ella." His voice appeared just before his face did. He was smiling. "You're awake." He touched my face lightly, before tilting my chin up so he could kiss me. The sudden contact made my head a bit fuzzy – and it had been fuzzy enough to begin with.

A rather predictable exasperated sigh came from my right, and Near pulled away from me. "Are you in any pain?" he asked.

"I like the way you order your priorities…" Mail's sarcastic voice reached me as his face appeared as well, beside Near's. He was shooting a sideways glare in Near's direction.

I shook my head. "I'm fine. A little dizzy." I wondered exactly how much that had to do with the painkillers I was undoubtedly on, and how much had to do with Near still touching my face. "What happened?"

"Well…" Near sighed, suddenly looking weary. "It's a long st–"

I cut him off. "If you say it's a long story, I'll…" I paused, unable to come up with a threat I could actually carry out while bedridden.

"… get me to punch him?" Mail asked hopefully. I glared at him.

Near coughed. "I was going to say… uh… something else…" he said, convincingly. "Anyway… I suppose I should start from when you… fell unconscious. Matt left with you for the hospital, while I stayed behind to…" Near bit his lip.

"What?"

"Well, Mello needed a living body so he could harm other ghosts, and…"

"Oh, God…" I rolled my eyes. I would have been more shocked, but clearly he was fine, so nothing seriously bad had happened. "Then what?"

"Well, I discovered why the ghosts are here." Near said brightly. "It's essentially so they can repeat something they've done in their original life."

I frowned. Near explained the logic to me, and I followed along, raising my eyebrows at appropriate moments. "Right…" I said. "So… Light just… disappeared…?"

"Well… yes." Near said.

I rolled my eyes again. "But what about Mail and Mello? I mean… why are they here?"

"I've thought about it, but I haven't come up with an answer." Near said. "I got the story about Mello and Halle from Matt, and it's obvious that Mello's doing something different to what he was doing in his previous life."

"Maybe that's it." I said. "You could think of it that way, or you could just say Mello is going to do something rebellious no matter what life he's in." Near and Mail laughed, and I carried on. "Which is ironic, because by doing so he's actually not being rebellious. Mail… I don't know…" I frowned. "Something to do with me?"

"Probably." Mail smiled weakly. "Pretty much the only thing I can think of concerning you is separations, so…"

"Ah." I said. "So we were brought back together so we could be separated again." I sighed. "Ironic…"

"Everything is ironic." I turned my head at the voice. It was Mello. He'd been over by the door, for how long I couldn't guess at. Halle was also with him, along with Matsuda, who had a large amount of tape across his nose. He didn't look so good.

Mello and Halle approached me, both smiling. Halle attempted to embrace me, but decided against it. She was probably worried about hurting me. She shook my hand, smiling ironically. Mello put one arm around her waist, reaching out to me with the other. I took his hand cautiously, leaving me with no free hands. Mail put his hand on my shoulder.

Suddenly, I shook everyone off, including Near. "Dammit, I feel like I'm in traction!" I yelled. A few seconds passed, and then everyone started laughing.

"Traction, huh?" said a low monotone from the other side of the room. We all looked.

In the corner of the room stood a man, probably in his mid-twenties. He was tall, but he stood hunched over so it was difficult to tell. His spiky black hair fell into his eyes as he looked up at us. He had an angel's smile.

There was a small squeak and we all looked in time to see Matsuda hit the floor.

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_A/N: Had to. Absolutely had to. :D L's so awesome!!_

_I'm not sure what genre this fanfic should be – right now I've got it at 'hurt/comfort' and 'supernatural' (ghosts, remember?). but it's also sort of a romance/comedy/action so I'm kind of confused. Review with advice? :3_


	37. Chapter 37 final chapter

_A/N: I don't own Death Note. :DDD_

_By the way, there's spoilers in here for the end of Another Note. :3. Just so you know._

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Mello whipped out his gun, pointing it at the newcomer.

"Wait…" Matt said. "How did you get that in here…?" it was a good question. They were in a hospital, after all.

"_I_ didn't." Mello replied. "You did. This is yours."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "You what?" he involuntarily reached for his belt, but it was empty. "_When_ did you steal my gun?"

"That's not important." Mello said. The man – ghost, presumably – did not seem perturbed by the gun that was aiming at him. In fact, he seemed pleased, and his brilliant – though understated – smile stretched wider. Mello scowled at him. "Who are you? Obviously you're no ordinary ghost" – Matt stifled a chuckle at the words 'ordinary ghost' – "you must have some sort of connection to Matsuda! Who are you?" he repeated.

The dark haired ghost blinked, still smiling. "I," he said, "am L."

Mello blinked, and then scowled. "Don't give me that bullshit." He growled, but something tweaked in his memory… Could this guy actually be… No. He shook his head. Just because of the slouch, the black hair, the uniform clothes… This man fit the description perfectly. The man Naomi Misora had 'run into' at the end of the LABB serial murder investigation. That person had undoubtedly been L. But then… this man could just as easily be B. Again, though, that was impossible. B was covered in burns from head to toe. This guy…

"Well…" the black-haired man who claimed to be L spoke. "I suppose nothing I can say about the LABB murder cases will prove my identity – already several people know about that because of the report you filed. But all three of you," he gestured to Mello, then Matt and finally Near, "remember Phoenix, over a year ago." His smile turned smug, though you could never really accuse this man of wearing a smirk. "I bet you're irritated at me for that."

"Damn right we were–" Mello cut himself off – his words had seemed to be involuntary. "No. Anybody could know…"

"All right then…" L sighed. Wait, no! Why had Mello thought of him as L? "Maybe I'll have to name some of the specifics." He spoke around his thumbnail, looking upwards as if thinking. "What happened first was that Near received a sum of money, the amount of which spelled the letter 'L' in binary. After that you went to Phoenix, where the transaction was apparently made, and eventually I sent you all separate communications. After which, the building…"

He turned to the group, an apologetic look in his eyes. "I really am sorry about that, I was careless. I should have had my contact make sure it was still relatively safe…"

"Contact?" Mello spoke before he could stop himself. "What contact?"

L smiled again. It was at that moment that Mello decided that this man was the real thing. And why not? "Why, Stephan Gevanni, of course."

Dead silence.

"… What. The. Hell. Are. You. Saying??" Halle enunciated every word very slowly and carefully. "_Gevanni_?"

"Yes." L said. "He made sure the plan had gone smoothly. Halle." He turned to her. "Mello received the communicator from you, but he didn't ask any questions as to where you got it from." Matt and Near blinked. This was news to them. "It was Gevanni who pointed out that you had mail. When you scanned the package for fingerprints, you found only yours and his. Of course there was no return address. You assumed that whoever had sent it had been cautious. But of course, what happened was that I left Gevanni the package and told him to deliver it to you at the right time."

Halle was stunned. "B-but… He's _Gevanni_…" she said. It would not do this sentiment any good to label it as 'pointing out the obvious', as that in itself would be such an act.

"He's a lot sharper than you might think." L replied cryptically, answering nothing. That dug up a memory. Mello remembered he'd stolen Gevanni's gun, thinking he hadn't noticed. Later, though… Come to think of it, he'd just stolen Matt's gun and the guy hadn't noticed. Then again, he'd been preoccupied by the fact that his sister was awake. But, to be fair to Gevanni, buildings had been exploding the other time.

"… So, assuming that we _do_ believe you're really L…" said Mello, fooling nobody, "… why are you here?"

"Same reason you are, Mello." L said. "To accomplish something I accomplished in my previous life. Yes, Near was right. Oh, and, by the way, Near, you're actually pretty good at aiming a gun. For a first-timer."

Everyone turned to look at Near. Ella glared at him. "Care to explain?" her tone was poisonous, but even Mello could hear the concern.

Near grimaced. "It's really not that important…"

"Mello. Can I borrow my brother's gun?"

Mello laughed, holstering the gun and patting Near and Ella on the heads.

"Look, I didn't actually shoot anyone." Near tried to explain, but stopped when he saw Ella rolling her eyes. L, across the room, smiled warmly. He seemed just generally good-natured. Wistful, even, and far away, although Mello could only guess at what his genius brain was thinking.

"Look. L." Mello said, turning back to his idol. "I still have a few questions. First of all, even though you explained, _why_ did you send us on a wild goose chase? What the hell was the point?"

"Like I said," L stuck his hands in his pockets, "it was incredibly amusing to watch. And also a test of your skills." He laughed. "The toothpaste thing was an added bonus."

Matt looked down, cursing. Mello just looked at L darkly. Near smirked, echoing L's sentiment. "I think I can understand that." He said. His two runner-ups turned on him, glaring. The smirk faded. "What? No. I just meant…" he trailed off.*

Mello laughed bitterly. "You're becoming like him already. In the same way that Ella's becoming like you."

Matt's eyes narrowed. Ella blinked. "Say what?" she asked.

Mello shot her a sidelong glance. "You haven't noticed? You two are so alike. More now than you were before. Partly it's Near becoming more human, but mostly it's you… I don't know… 'getting smarter' is the wrong phrase. But something like that."

Ella raised an eyebrow. "And you seem to have some very philosophical moments. You try to hide that side of you by being aggressive, but those moments give you away." She smirked at his surprised expression. "See? I can do the psychoanalysis, too."

"Sister." He said, smiling wryly and spreading his arms wide in mock-anticipation of an embrace.

"No can do. I'm incapacitated here." She said, gesturing towards the needle in her arm.

Halle rolled her eyes. "Enough bonding between you two rivals-in-law."

Matt's eyes flashed. "In law…?" he growled. He was only half exaggerating. "Don't you think that's a little premature?"

"The word 'premature' is kind of presumptuous that it's going to happen at all." Mello said, a little too brightly for the situation. Matt looked at him darkly, cancelling out the brightness. Near stayed quiet, trying not to look at anyone and ending up looking at Ella. He reached out to her involuntarily, touching her face lightly with his fingertips. Without seeming to think about it, she turned towards his touch.

"So, L." she said. "Why _exactly_ are you here?"

L shrugged. "I've done a lot of things in my lifetime."

"Interesting…" Ella said. "Well, I'm not a biographer, but maybe I could make an exception for you."

There was a knock at the door, and everyone turned as a teenage girl entered the room. Looking around the room, she bit her lip. "Oh. You already have visitors."

Near smiled. "It's okay, come in." he turned to the group. "Everyone, this is Yumi Aizawa. Yumi, this is Ella, Mello, Halle, Matsuda, Matt and Ryuuzaki." He listed one of L's numerous aliases without skipping a beat.

Yumi blinked at the unconscious Matsuda, then turned to Matt, frowning. "Uh… Aren't you… I mean…" she blushed. "I don't mean to be rude, but… I thought her brother was…"

Matt held out his hand. "One of the twins." He said, the fabrications oddly easy. "It was difficult when he died." Yumi shook his hand shyly.

Then she turned to Ella. "Somehow, you don't look anything like I thought you would…" she said.

Ella snorted. "What did you expect? Guns? Black leather? Rebellious hair?"

Everyone, including Mello, burst out laughing. "Sister…" he repeated.

"No." Near laughed. "It would be impossible for me to fall in love with one of your relatives."

"Oh, yeah?" Mello narrowed his eyes. "So how do you separate me from Matt in that respect?"

Near shook his head. "No reason. It's just that I'm already in love with Ella." To emphasize his point, he leant down and kissed her.

Matt sighed, looking at Yumi. "You see what I have to put up with?" he beseeched.

Halle linked arms with Mello. "Reality, Matt." She said, smiling. "Just reality."

The End. :D

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_A/N: No, really. It's really the end. No more sequels… I _think_…_

_Aaanyway…_

_I've been reading/watching Ouran High School Host Club. :D. I love the twins! I guess that's how the 'fabrication' got in there. Lol. Twin Matts would be the awesomenessest!_

_Did I explain enough for you? Maybe? Maybe not? :p. Yeah… flimsy conclusion, I know. But I simply ran out of space. This fanfic is already two (long) chapters longer than it's prequel. You're free to speculate over what would send the ghosts back to… Mu? Heaven? Hell? Who knows? (I'm hoping to drive at least one person insane with this question. Review and tell me if I have. ;D)_

_*= while proofreading this, I realized that this is exactly the sort of thing my friend would do/say. You know who you are, Austronothrus Clarki (and no I didn't look up how to spell that! Hah!). :p. lol; just had to throw that in there._

_Anyway, see you next fanfiction! (Provided you've stuck around this long. Wouldn't blame you for quitting, what with my quick (every-day almost) updates of comparatively boring content… Hah. Yayz for being optimistic!)_


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